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The evolution of good, evil, and the roots of human distinctiveness.
Celia Deane-Drummond
Are human beings at root good or evil, or a mixture of both? Working out where evil tendencies come from is a theological as much as an anthropological task, since theologians and scientists both have a stake in such explanations.
For centuries, theologians have argued about whether humanity, made in the image of God, was totally erased at the Fall, and hence at root basically corrupt and evil, thus standing in perfect need of God's grace. Or was that image was merely defaced, in such a way that God's grace could add to and perhaps even work with the human nature with which we are endowed? Leaving aside philosophical views that deny that human nature exists, it is fascinating to work through and witness how such debates are played out in the secular world. Further, we can ask ourselves, in what sense might it be true that our human distinctiveness is related to our innate tendency toward evil and sin? We may be highly distinct in our ability to show long-term compassion, for example, but what about tendencies toward different forms of evil and violence?
The practical implications of such theological debate are clear, ever since Jean Jacques Rousseau, who believed that at root human beings were peaceful, and Thomas Hobbes, who argued in favor of humanity's fundamental violence, set the stage for very different political theories. While organized "warfare" seems the next logical step after violence, Hobbes assumed that without an enforcing sovereign power, there is an inevitable "war of everyone against everyone."[1] For him there is, in the absence of the state, a situation of "continuall feare, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."[2]
Hobbes intended his hypothesis to be a universal theory, rather than reflecting the historical origin of the state. At the same time his hypothesis depends on empirical assumptions about human nature. For all people, Hobbes suggests, the situation of being in government is necessary to create a settled and peaceful order. Was he correct?
Evolutionary biologists Peter Kropotkin and Thomas Henry Huxley sided with Rousseau and Hobbes, respectively. The Rousseau-Kropkin paradigm proposes that humans are basically peaceful, and any tendencies for violence and war is a very much later cultural event, premised on patriarchal ideology, settled living, or perhaps even lethal technologies. The Hobbes-Huxley paradigm rejects any notion of the "noble savage" and argues that violence was a positive adaptive strategy in evolutionary terms. In this model, human violence has deep evolutionary roots, and is resonant with aggressive and violent behavior in chacma baboons and chimpanzees.
Of course, theologically one could argue that the concept that humanity was basically peace-loving is mirrored in the theological image of the garden of Eden, though it would become almost impossible to press for a completely violence-free existence in the way that the Edenic mythology implies. Violence is far too integrated into biological existence to press such a claim, even though cooperation also exists alongside such negative tendencies. Indeed, biologists argue that aggression and limited violence is necessary for survival, so should not be portrayed in a negative light. Most scholars agree that both aggression and the ability to judge whether engaging in fighting would bring more benefits than costs is more or less universal among social animals, involving higher conserved endocrine pathways that go further back in evolutionary time than the lowest common ancestor of Homo and Pan.[3] Even more aggressive animals show a preference to avoid initiating fighting unless the costs are low and the benefits are high.
What about humans?
So are humans basically violent or not? The answer seems to be both yes and no. Humans have a high propensity for proactive aggression, which is shared with chimpanzees. However, unlike chimpanzees, but more like bonobos, humans have a low propensity for reactive aggression.
Proactive aggression is a purposeful and planned attack with an external or internal reward as the goal and often with low emotional arousal and it is usually carried out when the attacker perceives that the reward will be high and the relative costs low. Bullying, stalking, ambushes, and premeditated homicides fall into this category.[4] Reactive aggression is a response to either threatening circumstances or frustration, and is associated with anger, a failure in cortical regulation, and may involve switching between targets. Wolves are the only non-primate mammal to engage commonly in coalitionary killing against adults of its own kind.
In Angels of Our Better Nature, Stephen Pinker proposes that warlike tendencies in humans have declined through history, and gives dozens of examples to back up his case from early hominin evolution, hunter-gatherer research, and evolutionary psychology.[5] Many of these examples cannot be substantiated. Brian Fergusson teases apart every example that Pinker gives for violent prehistory and finds almost all cases wanting in terms of direct evidence.[6]
Some scholars believe that war is a human universal that has remarkable resonance with chimpanzee behavior, and peace rather than war had to be invented. Other scholars believe that war is a specific human invention, and while there are some similarities with chimpanzee behavior, war and chimpanzee aggression need to be much more carefully distinguished. Further, peace-making evolved simultaneously with war mongering, rather than the former being subsequent to the latter.
Pleistocene beginnings
Hunting in Pleistocene contexts is broadly thought to be a preliminary phase to killing their own kind. The perception of other humans as less than human and in the same category as other animals is likely to have been particularly significant in encouraging emergent warfare. Cannibalism shows up in early Pleistocene, but also becomes more common in late Pleistocene. Other behaviors, including headhunting, torture, rape, and mutilation also accompany warfare in culturally prescribed ways and vary widely between different societies. Perhaps most important to note is the observation from peace theorist Johan Galtung, that different symbolic means are used in order to justify or legitimize a whole host of forms of human violence, to make such actions "feel right" or at least not wrong.[7]
Archaeological evidence looks for a whole package of signatures that indicate warfare. Such lines of evidence include trauma on skeletal remains, defensive architecture and settlement, deliberate destruction of property, specialist equipment such as armor and weapons, and iconographic depiction.[8] A survey of available data, however fragmentary, suggests that highly organized and complex warfare was only visible in the archaeological record after the Upper Paleolithic.[9]
Language use is also thought to have developed earlier than originally expected, so around 500,000 years ago, well before the advent of anatomically modern humans, suggesting that language is a pre-requisite for warfare. The overall conclusion of evolutionary anthropology is that the cognitive advances that made it possible to collaborate and cooperate also opened the door to organized violence and warfare, but then simultaneously the ability to make peace.
These results are significant theologically as they imply that vice is a distorted virtue, which is of course what classic philosophers and theologians suggested centuries ago. The very gifts that we have been given as human beings opens the door to the possibility of more extreme forms of evil and violence. At the same time, theologians, unlike evolutionary scientists, are prepared to press for the transformation of the human person toward the good as an aspirational goal.
If humanity is to make progress in the moral and spiritual life as well as in its material existence, it needs to recognize that its natural tendency toward evil is both the result of a gift and a curse. The mystery of why evil exists at all will always remain, but at least evolutionary anthropologists can assist theologians in working out and acknowledging the puzzles about what it means to be human.
[1] Karl Widerquist and Grant S. McCall, Prehistoric Myths in Modern Political Philosophy (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017), Prehistoric, p. 36.
[2] Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan: or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiasticall and Civil [1651] (New York: Collier Macmillan, 1962), p. 100.
[3] Michael L. Wilson and Luke Glowacki, 'Violent Cousins: Chimpanzees, Humans, and the Roots of War,' in Chimpanzees and Human Evolution, edited by Martin N. Muller, Richard W. Wrangham and David R. Pilbeam (Cambridge/Mass: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2017), [464-508], p. 466.
[4] J.C. Babock, A.L.T. Tharp, C. Sharp, W. Heppner, M.S. Stanford, 'Similarities and Differences in Impulsive and Premeditated and Reactive/Proactive Bimodal Classifications of Aggression,' Aggression and Violent Behavior 19 (2014).
[5] Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (New York: Penguin, 2011).
[6] R. Brian Fergusson, 'Pinker's List: Exaggerating Prehistoric War Mortality', in War, Peace and Human Nature: The Convergence of Evolutionary and Cultural Views, edited by Douglas P. Fry (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013): pp. 112-131.
[7] Johan Galtung, 'Cultural Violence,' Journal of Peace Research 27, no. 3 (1990), p. 291 [291-305].
[8] Nam Kim and Mark Kissel, Emergent Warfare in Our Evolutionary Past (New York: Routledge, 2018), pp. 64-65.
[9] Kim and Kissel, Emergent Warfare, p. 113.
Celia Deane-Drummond is Senior Research Fellow in Theology and Director of the Laudato Si' Research Institute at Campion Hall, University of Oxford.
Christian Miller literally wrote the book on honesty. So we talked to him about it.


This page broadly outlines how the Missionaries feature could be used by teachers and learners in social studies and history. It is part of a section on pre-1840 contact and when used in conjunction with other features from this category will provide users with a concise summary of the pre-1840 period. This category examines the European exploration of New Zealand, contact between Maori and those who sought to profit from involvement with New Zealand, and the humanitarian interest taken by the Christian missionaries. All of this set the context for the British decision to formally enter into a treaty with Maori in 1840.
Christianity came to New Zealand via Australia. As the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', these men and women went to extraordinary lengths to bring Christianity and 'civilisation' to Maori. This was a frontier society and Maori needed protection. While the early years were largely unsuccessful in terms of saving souls, they provided points of contact for trade and new ideas, and ultimately, these had a profound impact on many Maori communities. The introduction of the written word and the development of a written Maori language represented massive changes.
'Culture and heritage' and 'Time, continuity and change' are two strands that are supported by this feature. The feature helps set the context for any study of the Treaty of Waitangi or early contact in New Zealand as it examines the impact of the spread of new ideas, the effects of cultural interaction and the impact of contact on people's lives. How was New Zealand society as a whole shaped by the actions of missionaries?
The role of the missionaries in the early contact period and their involvement in the calls for formal British intervention during the 1830s are key aspects of the broad survey of New Zealand in the 19th century.
3.4: Examine a significant decision made by people in history, in an essay.
3.5: Examine a significant historical situation in the context of change, in an essay.
3.3: There are numerous excellent historical sources relating to missionaries and their activities that can be used as practice for final assessment.
We have 13 biographies, 3 articles, related to Classroom ideas - missionaries.


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Gaming in 2020: 4 Reasonable Predictions and 2 Ridiculous Ones
2019 is nearly over, so let's look ahead to what awaits the video game industry in the first year of the new decade. Informed opinions and hot takes abound.
By Jeffrey L. Wilson
As 2019 draws to a close, so does this console generation. New gaming platforms from Microsoft and Sony await us in the coming year, and Google Stadia, which launches this month, will still be in its infancy.
Although the 2020 gaming industry will likely revolve around those tentpole hardware releases, they won't be the only big changes. I'm no clairvoyant, but I have followed the video game industry for years and can deliver informed opinions and piping hot takes in equal measure.
And so I give you four perfectly reasonable and two absolutely ridiculous 2020 video game predictions.
Nintendo Releases a More Powerful Switch
This is, admittedly, low-hanging fruit when it comes to video game predictions. If there's one constant among Nintendo's recent handheld devices, it's that the original models are eventually replaced by new ones featuring improved hardware. An advanced Nintendo Switch is about due.
To be fair, the company leaned in that direction earlier this year when it released the Switch Lite, a non-dockable Nintendo Switch that offers a lower price, a much-improved d-pad, a smaller body, and non-removable Joy-Con. Expect a full-bodied update Switch with more powerful guts to appear in the new year.
Amazon Buys Discord
Amazon wants your gaming dollars. The company formed a video game development arm, Amazon Game Studio, in 2012 and leapt into the livestreaming game by purchasing Twitch in 2014. Based on that history, Amazon's next obvious gaming step would be to toss its big dollars at a gaming platform that boasts more than 250 million unique users: Discord.
The communication tool has its own built-in money-making systems, with people forking out cash for new games in the Discord storefront or signing up for the Discord Nitro subscriptions that offer animated avatars, big file uploads, and profile badges. A Discord acquisition would also be a way for Amazon to stay a step ahead of Microsoft, a company that's been making moves by signing former Twitch game streaming stars like Ninja and Shroud to exclusive, guaranteed contracts to stream using Mixer.
PS5 Gives the 4K Blu-ray Format a Big Boost
For true cinephiles, the Ultra HD Blu-ray format is a technological godsend that enables film studios to release movies that look and sound deliciously good (the Apocalypse Now and Wizard of Oz remasters truly display format's benefits).
Unfortunately, 4K Blu-ray sales lag behind vanilla Blu-ray and even DVD sales. Certainly, video-streaming services play a role in the format's slow adoption, as an increasing number of people have abandoned physical media for digital convenience.
Still, Sony's PlayStation 5 could dramatically boost the UHD format's single-digit percent market share if the console puts up sales numbers similar to the PlayStation 4's 100 million unit mark. The upcoming console will contain a UHD drive, which is something the PlayStation 4 lacks (and the Xbox One didn't adopt until the Xbox One S console revision). After all, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 served as many people's first DVD and Blu-ray players, respectively.
Capcom Announces a New Marvel Game
There's only one fighting game developer with several excellent crossover fighting games under its belt: Capcom. Despite Street Fighter V's utter lack of guest characters, Capcom has a long history of crafting wonderful fighting games featuring licensed characters. In fact, Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 remain two of the most beloved games in the genre's history.
Unfortunately, the track record was sullied by Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, a fighting game that lacked mutants and focused on MCU characters—allegedly due to Marvel Studios' film license beef with Fox.
But the all-encompassing Disney blob purchased Fox's movie division in 2019 and now has the film rights to X-Men (and Fantastic Four). So, expect a new Marvel vs. Capcom 5 announcement that plays up Wolverine, Magneto, and Cyclops as playable characters.
Are you ready for some completely ridiculously hot takes? Here we go.
Google Kills Stadia
The Best PC Games
Google Wave. Google Buzz. Google Health. Google Desktop. Google Reader. The search engine giant has a long, rich history of bringing a product to market and taking an axe to it a while later. It also has an uneven record when it comes to hardware, with the Nexus Player and Nexus Q (among other things) making early market exits.
I predict that after failing to amass an audience due to people not gleaning satisfaction from streaming games via America's questionable internet speeds, the Google Stadia game streaming service will join many other interesting and somewhat-interesting products in the Google Graveyard.
Plus, there will be zero first-party games from the Google Stadia Games and Entertainment development team at launch, which is a huge strike against the system; you can purchase the launch games elsewhere.
Nintendo (Finally) Kills the 3DS
Shortly after E3 2019, Nintendo stated that it had no plans to finally discontinue the nearly decade-old 3DS handheld. In fact, Nintendo president Doug Bowser said the company will support the 3DS "as long as there is demand."
Considering that the $299 Nintendo Switch is moving like hotcakes, and the $199 Switch Lite brings the system to an even more affordable price point, the Switch is soon going to be in damn near every Nintendo fan's hands. As a result, 2020 will be the year when Nintendo announces that the 3DS will be no more.
Rate My Scorecard
Now that my analysis and takes are out in the wild, I want you to hold me to them. Please return to this article the same time next year to praise my Amazing Kreskin-like mental abilities or pan me for being a total hack (though, to be fair, I suspect one of these actions will happen without my prompting). Share you predictions in the comments below!
Wake Up, Xbox Fans: Halo Infinite's Backward Compatibility is a Good Thing
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About Jeffrey L. Wilson
For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst. When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out web hosting, music, utilities, and video game copy, Jeffrey makes comic books, mentors, practices bass and Jeet Kune Do, and appears on the odd podcasts or convention panel. He also collects vinyl and greatly enjoys a craft brew. You can a find Jeffrey online at jeffreylwilson.net, or send him a tweet at @jeffreylwilson
Read the latest from Jeffrey L. Wilson
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I've been really enjoying Jeremy Miller's build you own CAB series of blog posts. He gives a great introduction to good fat client UI programming techniques. You hear plenty about MVC and MVP, but it's rare to get such a detailed introduction with lots of code.
Because I work as a freelancer, I get to see a lot of different .NET development shops. One of the things that continually surprises and frustrates me is how poorly many teams organise their solutions. By this I mean the way they split their application into projects (and thus assemblies), the way they group those projects into solutions, naming conventions and the way they source control those solutions.
Microsoft's Patterns and Practices group has specific guidance about how you should organise your solutions here and you can't go too badly wrong by following their advice. Unfortunately some of the following articles about build practices are way out of date and really should be updated, but that's for another post, right now I want to give a brief list of do and don'ts on organising solutions.
The most important thing to get right is to understand your team and the systems it builds and maintains. What source is in your control and what is outside it. It's very important that you don't build artificial silos within your team that make sharing and reusing code difficult. Ideally, all the source your team writes should be in a single solution file with all the projects referenced with project references. Not doing this is the single biggest source of solution problems I've seen. Never use file references for internal assemblies! It's such a headache making sure you've got the correct version of an internal assembly especially when it's busy being developed.
I've often seen the situation when two projects in the same solution both file reference the same internal assembly, but different versions of it so when you build the solution you get errors because visual studio complains that it will have to overwrite one version of an assembly with another. Also there's the issue of where you reference those assemblies from. If you reference the build server's (you do have a build server right?) latest built assemblies, you can often find that your local build breaks when another developer checks in and builds a new version of the assemblies that you're referencing. On the other hand I've worked on teams where I've had to manually maintain assemblies and file references. All this is bad and unnecessary.
When I arrive to work with your team I should be able to get the latest code from source control open the solution file and hit F5 and the build should work first time. Never ever put your stuff in the GAC. The only excuse is if you are forced to by COM interop issues. It's always a bad decision and will give you endless build and deployment nightmares.
What about third party assemblies you reference, or assemblies from other parts of your company that your team has no control over? If it's a .NET API to a non .NET product and you're going to have to run its installer on your deployment target and the installer places the assembly in the GAC, then it's probably best to just go with that. For pure .NET assemblies that can be xcopy deployed, the best think is to treat them like other binary resources and put them in your repository along with the source. You can either put them in their own solution folder or include them in each project that references them as a project item (as suggested by the P&P document above). The only problem with the latter approach is that it can be a headache when you want to move to a newer version and you have to hunt down all the projects that reference it.
OK, so we have a single solution with all the team's projects in it. How do we name and organise those projects within a solution? As far as naming goes there's a simple rule that will make your life much much easier: Project Name = Assembly Name = Assembly File Name = Root Namespace = Project Folder Name.
I would expect the solution name to be MyCompany.MyApplication or maybe MyCompany.TeamName if your team's solution file holds a number of different applications. You do share code between your team's apps don't you? On disk you should keep things flat. The solution should go in a folder with the same name as the solution (MyCompany.MyApplication) and all the projects should go in child folders of the solution folder. This is how VS likes it and it's pointless fighting the power.
One place where you do want to fight the power is with web projects. Don't let VS put them in a virtual directory under WWWRoot. Create a blank solution file first, then create a folder under the solution directory for your web project. Create a virtual directory using inetmgr that points to the project folder. Last of all, create the web project and ask visual studio to put it in the virtual directory you just created. This is much easier with VS 2005 + and the problem has mostly disappeared because you can use the cassini web server to run a web project from wherever it happens to be on disk.
Your source repository hierarchy should exactly match the solution structure on disk. Not doing this is a recipe for disaster. Don't be tempted to use the file linking feature in Source Safe to share source files between different solutions, it causes endless headaches whenever someone adds a new source file to a project, checks the project file in but doesn't add the new file to every location the project's linked to. As for source safe, although it's the default option for every Microsoft shop, it's also probably the worst SCM tool out there. Really consider using something more modern. I haven't had the opportunity to use the new Team System source control tool, but I have used Subversion on one project and it was like moving from a Trabant to a BMW. However that one experience with Subversion was the only one in my long career as a Microsoft developer, everyone else uses Source Safe. A great pity and definitely a subject for a future post.
Here's a neat trick I discovered a while back that I thought I'd share. Us .NET programmers are always doing serialization for one reason or another. The built in BCL binary serializer, System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.BinaryFormatter is a really easy way of persisting objects to disk or any other kind of binary stream. What I didn't realise until I discovered this trick is that you can serialize one object after another onto a single stream and then read them back one by one. You can create a file, serialize some objects to it, close it, then open it again and append a few more. Also the objects don't have to be the same type, the BinaryFormatter just reads to the next object boundary and then returns the object cast as object. Also you don't have to read all the objects back into memory at once. So long as you remember the position of the last object you deserialized, you can just continue at some later date. This is really efficient if you've got huge collections of things you want to store and process. Of course if you want to serialize a lot of independent objects (or object graphs) you could always insert them into some data structure like an ArrayList and then serialize the ArrayList, but this means creating all the objects in memory at once and reading them all back into memory at once which is fine with small collections, but isn't a good strategy for larger amounts of data. Here's a little demo. The meat of it is the functions WriteAnimalToFile and ReadAnimalFromFile. WriteAnimalToFile opens a file, writes one Animal object to it and then closes the file. In the demo we do this for 10 different types of Animal, note that Animal is an abstract base class that's specialized by Cat and Dog. ReadAnimalFromFile opens a file, seeks to the given position, reads one animal back and then closes it. It returns the animal and the new position. In the demo we read back all the animals we created with WriteAnimalToFile. Note that in ReadAnimalFromFile we don't have to tell the BinaryFormatter what kind of object to expect, it just reads to the next object boundry. If the position is at the end of the file, we just return null.
// read the animals back one by one.
I am a dog called Animal_0, age 5, trained.
I am a dog called Animal_2, age 7, not trained.
I am a dog called Animal_4, age 9, not trained.
I am a dog called Animal_6, age 11, trained.
I am a dog called Animal_8, age 13, not trained.
Note that you can't do this trick with the XML Serializer since we have to specify the type we're expecting. Also a single file with multiple XML documents would be malformed.


This part of the "Legal Education Seminar for Association and MLS Counsel" course is for Assocation Executives and attorneys.
REGISTER: Purchase tickets online here.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: The deadline to add a ticket is until the event sells out. A ticket added on site is subject to availability.
NOTES: Contact Aimee Nieves at anieves@REALTORS.org with questions.


Four men from Birmingham and Tamworth have been given a combined sentenced of 28 years after stealing high performance vehicles in Lichfield and attaching false number plates to avoid police detection.
The crimes took place in January and detectives say arresting the men has prevented further vehicles being stolen.
Kieron Donovan, 31, of Kingsleigh Drive, Castle Bromwich, was found guilty by a jury at Stafford Crown Court on July 31 of conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to commit burglary and using a vehicle without insurance.
Louis Smith, 30, of Marmion Park, Tamworth was found guilty on the same day of conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to commit burglary, dangerous driving and using a vehicle without insurance.
Daniel Williams, 31, of Bishops Close, Erdington, and Dean Millard, 48, of Reynoldstown Road, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to commit burglary and using a vehicle without insurance at an earlier hearing.
In the early hours of January 18 two Audi S3s were stolen from Fletcher Drive in Fradley and Aspen Close in Lichfield where the four men broke into each house, stole the keys and drove the vehicles away.
Seven hours later the same vehicles were spotted displaying cloned registration plates in an attempt to avoid police detection.
Donovan and Williams were arrested later that day in Small Heath in possession of one of the stolen vehicles. Millard was arrested in Fazeley on January 19.
Smith escaped from the police on January 18 after a pursuit with a white Audi S3 that took place in the area of Burlington Road, Bordesley Green. Smith, who was driving, crashed the Audi into several police vehicles and parked cars on Mansel Road before making his escape.
After repeated efforts to track him down, Smith was then arrested on May 15 in Tamworth.
Being sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on August 3, Donovan received 8 years 3 months, Smith received 5 years and 10 months, and Millard received 6 years and 2 months. Williams was sentenced on 6 August and received 6 years and 9 months.
Detective Sergeant Adrian Martin, from Staffordshire Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: "These four men caused great distress to two innocent families, with the potential for more thefts if they were not caught.


Most of the original 1890 Census (including Greene County, Missouri) was destroyed by fire and resulting water damage. A group of OGS volunteers worked for years to fill the research void with a substitute census using other contemporary records.
These volunteers transcribed over 22,000 names from seven different, local 1890 documents. Some of these names will be duplicates because a person may have been listed in multiple documents such as the County Directory and the Tax List. Research indicates the original 1890 United States Census of Greene County had 48,616 residents, which means that we have identified less than half of those recorded residents.


Felton has been manufacturing power brushes since 1933, allowing us to become one of leading experts in manufacturing high-quality knotted and crimped wire brushes.
Our power brushes are divided mainly into four segments; wire wheels, end brushes, cup brushes and rotary brushes. Furthermore, thanks to our advanced brush making platforms, we can create custom power brushes to virtually any customer specification.
In addition to the segments above, we also have an innovative encapsulated version for a variety of our premium brushes, which has been proven to extend the life of the brush.
Our power brushes come in a variety of sizes and knot types. Need help choosing the right knot for you? Please read our Knot Types Documentation Page for more information.


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Submit Project Info
We approach each project with open ears and a respect for creative intent. Our clients rely on us to ensure that the best elements of their work make a deep connection with their listeners. Whether it's the first project for a developing artist or a new release by an established one; whether experimental, traditional, or something new altogether, we will treat your recordings with the same level of attention, professionalism, and care.
Dave Greenberg
Over three decades, Dave has worked on a vast spectrum of music across all genres and styles, including Grammy-nominated and international award-winning projects. His clients include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, composers, producers, artists, and labels all around the world. From the vantage of this finishing stage in music production, Dave bridges the gap between the technical and the creative, helping to bring out the best in everyone he works with.
In the late 1980s, Dave began working as an assistant engineer in two of Boston's premiere recording studios. During this time, he was still an art-school student making experimental music, electro-acoustic instruments, and sound processors. By the early '90s, Dave moved to San Francisco and joined the engineering staff at Boomtown, a bustling recording studio owned by Clio-winning music company Keller & Cohen. Here, he had the good fortune of learning from legendary recording engineer Fred Catero. His years at Boomtown helped him develop a skill set steeped in analog recording and mixing traditions with a highly-professional studio etiquette and atmosphere.
While Dave eventually became chief engineer at Boomtown, he continued to outfit and develop his warehouse studio in San Francisco's South of Market area. There, his focus grew naturally toward mastering, and he continued collaborating on projects developed in other area studios. As he took on more and more mastering projects, Dave made the decision to officially launch Sonopod full-time.
In the early 2000s, Dave relocated Sonopod from one Bay Area back home to another: St. Petersburg, Florida, where they still operate today. Unattended sessions and speedy file transfers have enabled a geographically-diverse client base while building new roots in this new, arts-rich community.
Melissa Harris Chambers
Melissa brings a diverse skill-set to her work as a mastering engineer, with a perspective garnered from a lifetime immersed in music. She was raised in the rooms of St. Petersburg, Florida's iconic Asylum Records by her father, its manager, and former radio DJ. It's only natural that Melissa's mental encyclopedia of music and sonic references became extensive.
The first ever graduate of St. Petersburg College's acclaimed Music Industry/Recording Arts program, Melissa has spent over a decade working in professional audio across the spectrum of recording, mixing, and even manufacturing (building analog consoles for Daking Audio).
Over the years that Melissa has spent mastering the craft of mastering, the legends and folklore about her have grown. What we can tell you is that most of it is true. Fortunately, she uses her powers for good: to hone in on the subtle details of each project she works on, finding and enhancing what makes them special. When not at the console, Melissa enjoys lifting weights, taking hikes, dark chocolate, bitter beer, black coffee, sweet apples, oxford commas, and cookies. At home, she takes care of a dog who thinks she's a human and children that are actual humans (allegedly).
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California rejects gun tax for second year in a row
By Tom Knighton | 2:30 PM on September 01, 2022
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
There's not much I could tell you about California that would shock you. I could say they just banned pocket knives and you'd probably look at it and think, "Yeah, that figures," then go about your day. It's just how the state is.
However, there are exceptions.
After all, with California's left-leaning policies and anti-gun sensibilities, a tax on guns sounds like a sure thing. Well, it's clearly not.
California lawmakers for the second year rejected a new tax on gun sales Wednesday, despite their passage of numerous other gun control measures this year.
The money would go toward gun violence prevention, but the bill was seven votes short of the supermajority it needed in the state Senate in an initial vote.
The bill by Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine would impose a 10% excise tax on sales of handguns and 11% on sales of rifles and shotguns, ammunition, and parts used to build firearms starting July 1, 2023. His latest version includes an exemption for hunters buying long guns.
The bill stalled when two Democratic senators joined Republicans in opposition, and some other Democrats withheld their votes.
"Why are we taxing these law-abiding people?" asked Republican Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh. "Here we're taxing them as if they're criminals."
"Most of the mass shootings we've seen recently have been guns purchased legally," countered Democratic Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman. "We have too many damn guns."
Levine's previous version failed last year when it received 50 of the 54 votes it needed in the Assembly.
To me, the fascinating part is that this didn't just fail, but failed twice.
There was still a majority who supported this measure, of course, but not enough to make it stick.
Now, the question is how much of that was because it was a tax and how much was because it was a gun tax? We already see was Sen. Eggman thinks of law-abiding gun owners–remember, she brought up mass shootings in response to a question of why law-abiding citizens were being taxed. She thinks we're all potential mass shooters, apparently.
I mean, otherwise, she'd concede that mass shooters are the anomaly, a horrible black swan event that represents a statistical outlier when it comes to gun-related criminal activity, rather than a significant driver of such incidents.
But, since she's unlikely to do so, we're left with the understanding that she thinks highly of us all.
Luckily, it looks like cooler heads prevailed and the excise tax failed, which is good because it would drive the cost of gun ownership up significantly, making it even more difficult for low-income citizens to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.
California doesn't get a lot right when it comes to guns. They'll pass just about any bit of gun control if they think they can get away with it, as we've seen over and over throughout the years.
In this case, they managed to actually do something right with regard to the Second Amendment. I doubt they meant to and I doubt we should hold our breath if they try it again, but I'll take my wins where I can.
Tags: GUN CONTROL GUNS CALIFORNIA GUN TAX


COAT EXPO co-organizers, Guangdong Coating Industry Association and Shunde Chamber of Commerce of Paints had organized 6 coatings enterprises including Badesa, Dipon, Talapaints, Union Chemical Co., Ltd., Jointas Chemicals and Daqingfang to attend The 6th China-ASEAN Economic and Trading Activities from Nov. 6-10, 2014.
Main attendees Mrs. Huang Kai, Chairman of Guangdong Coating Industry Association(GDCIA); Mr. Lv Shuilei, Secretary General of GDCIA ; Mr. Hu Jingzhao, President of Shunde Chamber of Commerce of Paints; Mr.Fang Xueping, President of Badesa ; Mr. Li Zhenbo, General Manager of Dipon Coatings, Mr. Kang Lunguo, President of Union Chemical Co., Ltd., Dr. Chen Zhonghua, Technical Director of Jointas Chemical, Mr. Jiang Lianqing, General Manager of Daqingfang Paints as well as the companys' Purchasing Director and Vice GM, a total of 16 people had made a series of business investigation in Thailand.
Guangdong Coating Delegation had met Thai Paint Manufacturers Association(TPMA) and friendly exchanged and dialogued with Mr.Zhang Zhenfeng, President of TPMA, Ms. Zheng Yangmei, Vice President of TPMA and other Thai coatings enterprises in the morning of Nov 7th, 2014. During the meeting, Mr. Zhang Zhenfeng expressed warm welcome on behalf of TPMA to the Guangdong Coating Delegation. Thai Paint Manufacturers Association maintains good exchanges and cooperation with Guangdong Coating Industry Association, and it was introduced that TPMA was founded in 2000, currently has more than 90 Member companies, including Nippon, Jotun Coatings and TOA, the top brand in Thailand. The coatings in Thailand are mainly solvent-based, while the water-borne wood coatings are not widely used now. The Chairman of TPMA also said, due to the ASEAN Integration and Tax-free economy policy, Thai coatings will grow dramatically in the coming years to push the rapid development of ASEAN coatings export. The sense of using environmental coatings is getting increased in Thai and great potentials are to be tapped for water-borne coatings. China is a big coatings producer in the world and Guangdong province is the top of the list. Guangdong is good at producing wood coatings that TPMA wants to expand the cooperation with Guangdong on this.
Mrs. Huang Kai, Chairman of Guandong Coating Industry Association thanked Thai Paint Manufacturers Association for organizing the China-Thailand Coatings Industry Networking Event. This networking is very meaningful and builds a direct link between Chinese members with Thai coating enterprises, to help better learn about each other. Chairman Huang expected to keep exchanging on information, technology and strategy with Thai and invited Thai Paint Manufacturers Association to join COAT EXPO 2015 �C The 11th Guangzhou (China) International Coatings, Printing Inks and Adhesives Exhibition on May 11-13, 2015 and visited Guangdong coatings enterprises.


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President Erdogan wraps up gulf visit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Qatar for Turkey on Monday, as his two-day visit to the Gulf region has come to an end...
MV Media July 24, 2017 1 min read
By: Ilkay Guder
Source: Anadolu Agency
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Qatar for Turkey on Monday, as his two-day visit to the Gulf region has come to an end.
Erdogan met Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and discussed the Gulf crisis.
The Turkish leader was accompanied by a high-profile delegation that includes Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, and the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan.
Erdogan also held talks with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of his efforts to solve the Gulf crisis, triggered by the severance of relations between Qatar and four Arab states that accuse Doha of supporting terrorism.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar and presented a list of demands to Doha aimed at ending the siege, including the closure of the Al-Jazeera television network and a Turkish base in Doha.
Doha denies the accusation of supporting terrorism and says the blockade is a violation of international law.
Reporting by Ilkay Guder; Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet.
Tags: Bahrain Egypt Kuwait Qatar Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saudi Arabia Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani UAE
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2020 Mid-American Conference Football Week 6 Game Recap: Western Michigan Broncos vs. Ball State Cardinals
Ball State stuns Western Michigan 30-27 to win the MAC West
By Keith Gregorski Dec 12, 2020, 6:00pm EST
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Ball State WR Justin Hall's dominant performance against WMU propels the Cardinals to the MAC Championship game.
Ball State (5-1) stunned Western Michigan (4-2) to win its first MAC West title since 2008 on Saturday afternoon, with the Cardinals scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to punch their ticket to Detroit, where they will take on the 24th-ranked Buffalo Bulls for the MAC Championship.
The game came right down to the end, where Western Michigan still had a chance to win on a wild final play which saw 13 laterals, a fumble, more laterals, and a touchdown by WMU's Skyy Moore that was ultimately nullified by a penalty for a forward lateral.
With six seconds remaining, down 30-27, the Broncos had the ball near mid-field and unleashed the wild lateral play. The play started with a screen pass to WR Skyy Moore, who lateralled back to RB La'Darius Jefferson, who then lateralled to QB Kaleb Eleby. 11 more laterals ensued until the 13th lateral was a fumble.
Ball State's bench charged the field, thinking the fumble had been recovered and the game was over only to find that the whistle had not been blown and the fumble was not yet recovered.
The ball was eventually recovered by Western Michigan and more laterals ensued with Skyy Moore ending up with the ball. Moore weaved through the chaos to reach the end zone. Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the score was called back due to a penalty, as one of the laterals was ultimately determined to be a forward pass.
It was timely defense and a championship performance from Ball State's WR Justin Hall which keyed the improbable win over WMU. Hall dominated with 213 all-purpose yards, including 10 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Western Michigan has got to feel like they let one get away here after a dominating offensive performance, including 492 yards and more than 37 minutes of time of possession. Nine receptions for 124 yards by D'Wayne Eskridge and 159 yards rushing by La'Darius Jefferson were not enough to get the win, as WMU's red zone woes and two turnovers ultimately ruined their MAC West title hopes.
Western Michigan dominated the first half more than the 20-13 halftime score would suggest. The Broncos possessed the ball for almost 20 minutes and rolled up 325 yards of offense in the first half, but never could quite pull away from the Cardinals.
Ball State's defense, combind with woeful WMU meltdowns in the red zone prevented an early blowout, as WMU ran 36 plays on its first four drives and made it to the red zone on its first three drives, only coming away with three points to show for their efforts.
On WMU's first drive in the red zone, the Cardinals' Jordan Williams knocked down a pass on third-and-eight to force a WMS field goal. On WMU's third red zone drive, Ball State's safety Bryce Cosby and linebacker Jaylin Thomas combined to force a turnover-on-downs by stuffing a run on fourth and two from inside the five yard line.
WMU's second drive into the red zone, a nine-play, 70-yard drive, resulted in no points when a strong snap was too hot to handle for QB Kaleb Eleby, sailing 36 yards down field where it was recovered by Ball State's Jimmy Daw. The Cardinals' linebacker Daw made some notable plays throughout, including some nice special teams tackles and a critical stop of Eleby on third and one in the fourth quarter to force a field goal attempt which was missed.
The tide started to turn in the Broncos' favor in the second quarter when WMU started finishing drives. The Broncos scored touchdowns on its last two drives of the half, a 24-yard pass from Eleby to Eskridge and a five-yard pass from Eleby to Jaylen Hall.
Ball State scored a touchdown late in the second quarter, on an 11-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a 32-yard pass play to Justin Hall from QB Drew Plitt.
Despite the touchdown, Ball State was never able to consistently sustain an offensive threat in the first half due to poor execution including several dropped passes or off-the-mark throws. The Cardinals' early offensive struggles were compounded by the absence of RB Caleb Huntley, who missed his third game in a row reportedly due to a rib injury.
Western Michigan had Ball State on the ropes in the third quarter, but some Bronco blunders breathed life into a fading Cardinal crew.
Up 27-13 and driving, WMU bobbled the snap, resulting in a five-yard loss on second and one. The center-quarterback shotgun exchange was a major problem on the day for WMU, with at least five misadventures, either on dropped or bad snaps.
On the next play, Eleby's errant throw on a screen pass was deftly picked by defensive linemen Chris Agyemang. Five plays and thirty yards later, Ball State got back within eight, 27-19, on a thirteen-yard touchdown pass to Yo'Heinz Tyler.
On Ball State's next possession, Justin Hall electrified viewers with a 55-yard touchdown on a screen pass where Hall weaved through and outraced WMU defenders to the end zone. A two-point conversion tied the game at 27.
Western Michigan's theme on the day of domination between the 20s then implosion in the red zone continued on the next drive. The Broncos marched 70 yards on 12 plays only for Thiago Kapps—pressed into duty after being benched the prior week due to performance—miss a 29-yard field goal.
The game came down to the final two minutes, where Ball State marched the ball into field goal position. Kicker Jack Knight, who had missed two extra points, nailed a 22-yard field goal to give Ball State the final 30-27 advantage.
With six seconds remaining, WMU launched its lateral play, only to come up short. The Broncos could not recapture the magic it found earlier in the season when they defeated the Toledo Rockets on a fake spike play in the waning seconds.
The newly-named Rocket Mortgage Mid-American Conference Football Championship Game will take place Friday, December 18th, at 7:30pm ET on ESPN. The Cardinals will face the #24-ranked Buffalo Bulls.
WMU's regular season ends at 4-2, and they await any potential invitations to a bowl game.
9 former MAC football players to participate in 2022 Spiral Tropical Bowl The Spiral Tropical Bowl, kicking off in Orlando on Saturday, includes the most MAC alum to play a collegiate all-star game in the 2022 campaign.
MAC Bandwagon Episode 79: Hoops is in full swing! Ohio and Toledo seem to be separating themselves in men's hoops. On the women's side of things, Toledo has been the surprise of the season
Charlie Batch offers Caleb Williams massive NIL deal to transfer to Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan lost its top two QBs to the transfer portal. In the NIL era, could the Eagles land Caleb Williams through a million dollar deal?


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Bio: Hello, my name is Alisha Patel. I am a Fashion Blogger. Writing on different topics is my hobby like women fashion clothing, leggings, palazzo pants, gowns, fashion accessories for women, beauty and makeup tips etc. Other than that I love swimming, reading novels and singing. I enjoy traveling to different places as well.


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10 Things You Need to Know About Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program
by TheTower.org Staff | 11.06.14 9:35 am
The deadline for the P5+1 nations and Iran to reach a deal to keep Iran from ever having nuclear weapons arrives next month, and negotiators are working overtime to reach a deal that would supposedly stop their nuclear program. Yet critics have suggested that the impending deal would do the exact opposite—preserve Iran's technology and hardware to make it entirely possible to build a bomb in the future. As a service to our readers, we offer the following 10 things you need to know when evaluating the deal that may or may not be signed in the coming weeks.
1. There Have Been Six United Nations Security Council Resolutions Addressing Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program
Due to its ongoing refusal to abide by the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty that it signed, or come clean about the extent of its nuclear program, Iran has been subject to six UN security Council resolutions demanding that it come into compliance with its obligations. The first, Resolution 1696, was passed in July 2006 by a vote of 14-1, with only Qatar voting against it. It "called on Iran to comply with the requirements set forth by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and suspend all of its enrichment and reprocessing activities." Resolution 1696 was passed under Article 40 of the UN Charter, meaning that Iran faces no binding threat in the case of non-compliance. However, Resolution 1696 prescribed that any future resolutions governing Iran's nuclear program be passed under Article 41, which would "permit the 'complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations'" in order to force the country into compliance. The subsequent five resolutions were Resolution 1737 (passed in December 2006), Resolution 1747 (March 2007), Resolution 1803 (March 2008), Resolution 1835 (September 2008), and Resolution 1929 (June 2010). Resolution 1737 imposed economic sanctions on "Iranian companies and individuals involved in Iran's nuclear weapons program," and ordered Iran to give up enrichment within sixty days. Resolution 1747 added the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to the list of sanctioned organizations. The other resolutions generally strengthened the existing sanctions. Resolution 1929 banned "the regime from pursuing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons." The contentious relations between the West and Iran was not an "unnecessary crisis," as Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called it when the P5+1 talks started last fall, but rather an international response to a rogue state that has a record of deceit, flouting both international law and its own commitments.
2. Iran Does Not Possess a "Right" to Enrich Uranium Under International Law
The initial Security Council Resolution passed in 2006, Resolution 1696, "demanded that Iran suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, and gave it one month to do so or face the possibility of economic and diplomatic sanctions to give effect to its decision."
Despite this, Iran has an estimated 19,000 centrifuges installed. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a non-partisan watchdog group, calculates that Iran must remove 15,000 centrifuges, otherwise it will maintain the capacity to enrich enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb undetected.
3. Before his Election as President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani Boasted of Duping the West — Twice
Prior to his election as president of Iran last year, Hassan Rouhani answered a hostile interviewer — who claimed that Rouhani was too "moderate" — by boasting of secretly advancing the Iranian nuclear program while he served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 – 2005:
Far from honoring the commitment, in which Iran said "it has decided voluntarily to suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities," Rouhani told the interviewer that all Iran did was merely suspend "ten centrifuges" in the Natanz enrichment facility. "And not a total suspension. Just reduced the yield." …
Incredulous at the notion that Iran had bowed to international pressure and halted nuclear activities in that period, Rouhani asked the interviewer, "We halted the nuclear program? We were the ones to complete it! We completed the technology."
In 2006, The Telegraph published a similar boast. Again, in reaction to charges that he had been too soft in the Iranian nuclear negotiations with the West, Rouhani claimed that he advanced Iran's nuclear research when he claimed that no advances were being made:
He boasted that while talks were taking place in Teheran, Iran was able to complete the installation of equipment for conversion of yellowcake – a key stage in the nuclear fuel process – at its Isfahan plant but at the same time convince European diplomats that nothing was afoot.
"From the outset, the Americans kept telling the Europeans, 'The Iranians are lying and deceiving you and they have not told you everything.' The Europeans used to respond, 'We trust them'," he said.
After his election last year, The Guardian wrote, "On his watch, Iran agreed for the first time to stop enriching uranium." Yes Iran agreed to stop enriching. But according Rouhani's boasts, it never did.
4. Illegal Ballistic Missile Development is a Central Part of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program
Iranian officials have frequently asserted that the P5+1 negotiations as spelled out in the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) agreed to last November only concern Iran's nuclear program, precluding discussions of Iran's ballistic missile research. As with nuclear enrichment, the Security Council resolutions tell a different story. Provision 5 of Resolution 1696 states explicitly, "Calls upon all States, in accordance with their national legal authorities and legislation and consistent with international law, to exercise vigilance and prevent the transfer of any items, materials, goods and technology that could contribute to Iran's enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and ballistic missile programmes…"
According to a report appearing on the United States Institute of Peace's (USIP) Iran Primer website, "Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East." Though they vary in range and accuracy, some of them are capable of carrying nuclear payloads. According to former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, quoted in 2008, "Iran continues to deploy and improve ballistic missiles inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons," notably the Shahab III. In addition to other advancements, Iran has reportedly developed a solid fuel missile, which "launch quicker than liquid fuel missiles," making them harder to intercept. The Shahab III is capable of reaching "Israel, Turkey, and portions of southeastern Europe." While Iran is not believed to have a missile capable of reaching the United States yet, it is believed to be capable of developing that ability in the near future, possibly as soon as 2015.
5. Iran Has a Huge Global Network of Terrorists Who Could Deliver Nuclear and "Dirty" Bombs
Iran, through terrorist proxies, most notably Hezbollah, has a global reach. Hezbollah operates in Africa, Europe, and South America. Hezbollah expert Matthew Levitt even documented Hezbollah activity in the United States in his recent book. If Iran decided to attack a target with a "dirty" bomb, it has the means to deliver it anywhere in the world, even without ballistic missiles.
6. There is no Iranian Fatwa Prohibiting the Development and Use of Nuclear Weapons
A common argument advanced by Iranian officials is that the country would never develop nuclear weapons because Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa, or religious edict, prohibiting the development and use of nuclear weapons. However, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) searched for evidence of this fatwa and found none, declaring the claim to be "a propaganda ruse." In the introduction to a publication (.pdf) produced by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the implications of the fatwa, Patrick Clawson wrote, "Past proclamations about the matter, like all fatwas issued by Shiite clerics, can be revised under new circumstances." In a speech given approximately ten years ago (.pdf), Hassan Rouhani asserted, "Having fuel cycle capability almost means that the country that possesses this capability is able to produce nuclear weapons, should that country have the political will to do so." Nowhere in the speech did Rouhani make any reference to religious considerations.
7. Iran Refuses to Come Clean About its Detonator Research
Iran has been conducting negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in parallel to its P5+1 negotiations. Since the IAEA is an arm of the UN, it is seeking to ensure that Iran is in compliance with UN Security Council resolutions. One area that Iran hasn't sufficiently explained is its research into exploding bridge wires (EBW), which have a number of applications, including as a trigger for a nuclear weapon. In February, Iran agreed to provide more data into this research. In May, it was reported that the IAEA "also said Iran has cooperated for the first time on a probe into its suspected past bomb research program." However Iran still has not allowed the IAEA to inspect the Parchin site, which shows signs of having EBW explosions tested there. Iran again refused the IAEA access to Parchin this past summer. Even an inspection of Parchin might not rule out a possible military dimension to Iran's research, as Iran has asphalted the site in a way that could hide incriminating evidence.
8. Iran Refuses to Halt its Plutonium Development
Iran is building a heavy water reactor in the city of Arak. One byproduct of a heavy water reactor is plutonium, which can be processed into fuel for a nuclear bomb. If Iran can produce plutonium, it would provides a shortcut to an atomic bomb by not requiring uranium enrichment. Though Iran claims that the Arak facility is for producing medical isotopes for research, a light water reactor could do the same without producing plutonium. Jeremy Bernstein wrote in the New York Review of Books last November:
It is hard to imagine any legitimate reason for not converting the Arak reactor into a light water reactor. The Iranians have enough enriched uranium fuel to power such a reactor, and surely it would be worth the while of the countries that are now negotiating with Iran to offer to help in this endeavor. If the IR-40 became a light water reactor, this would end all the suspicions about it.
However, Iran still insists on keeping Arak configured as a heavy water reactor and only reducing its yield of plutonium.
9. Iran Likely Has Secret Nuclear Sites
After the JPOA was signed in November, The New York Times reported:
True rollback would mean dismantling many of those centrifuges, shipping much of the fuel out of the country or converting it into a state that could not be easily adapted to bomb use, and allowing inspections of many underground sites where the C.I.A., Europe and Israel believe hidden enrichment facilities may exist. There is no evidence of those facilities now, but, as a former senior Obama administration official said recently, speaking anonymously to discuss intelligence, "there has never been a time in the past 15 years or so when Iran didn't have a hidden facility in construction."
To date, few significant revelations about Iran's nuclear program came from information volunteered by the regime. Concern over the Iranian nuclear program grew in 2002 "after an Iranian dissident group revealed a secret uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and a heavy water facility at Arak." Iran had hidden its enrichment program for 18 years. In September 2009, Western countries, led by the United States, announced the discovery of the Fordow enrichment facility based on intelligence and satellite photography. According to then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the discovery pointed to a "serial deception of many years."
Any permanent agreement that would prevent Iran from a nuclear breakout would require an intrusive inspection regime to ensure the effectiveness of the agreement. But inspections can't be effective unless all of Iran's nuclear facilities are known. Iran's pattern of deception regarding its nuclear program means that there is no way to be certain that every nuclear site is known.
10. Iran has Rejected or Withdrawn from a Number of Previous Agreements
In 2003, Iran agreed to "to cooperate with the IAEA, sign the Additional Protocol, and temporarily suspend conversion and enrichment activities." But it "exploited ambiguities in the definition of 'suspension' to continue to produce centrifuge components and carry out small-scale conversion experiments." In order to avoid a referral to the Security Council, Iran agreed to the Paris Agreement with Britain, France, and Germany in November 2004. This agreement included a suspension of enrichment activities. In August 2005, Iran restarted its enrichment program. In June 2006 the West offered Iran a deal (including light water reactors and a number of economic incentives) if it would stop enrichment and recommit to the Additional Protocol. Iran refused to stop enrichment and didn't respond to the offer. In light of Iran's continued defiance, the Security Council passed its first sanctions resolution (1696) at the end of July 2006.
[Photo: PBS NewsHour / YouTube ]


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Body trapped under boat recovered from river
4 years 5 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, July 26 2017 Jul 26, 2017 July 26, 2017 9:33 AM July 26, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ
By: Natalia Verdina and Trey Schmaltz
BATON ROUGE - First responders were dispatched to a body found, trapped under a boat along the river side of the levee near Brightside Drive Wednesday morning.
The Corps of Engineers initially reported the find to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office around 9:20 a.m. while the Corps was working on the bridge.
EBRSO Dive Teams brought the remains to shore and the East Baton Rouge Coroner's Office took them to make further determinations about the circumstances, the sheriff's office says.
EBRSO spokesperson Casey Hicks said pulling the body out of the water was difficult due to strong currents.
"In this case, they said that this was one of the most difficult recoveries they've made to date," Hicks said.
The body has not been identified at this time. The coroner will conduct an autopsy tomorrow.


Lionel Messi net worth and salary: Lionel Messi is a Argentinian-born professional footballer who has a net worth of $400 million. Lionel Messi has earned his net worth as the striker and winger of the FC Barcelona and the Argentina National Team. Lionel played in his very first major soccer match at the age 16 against a team called Porto. At the age of 17, he made his league debut against RCD Espanyol and became the third youngest person ever to play on Barcelona. At that time he was also the youngest player to ever score for Barcelona. During the 2005-2006 season, Messi began being paid as a first team member and also got his Spanish citizenship.
He also made his debut in the Spanish First Division league. Messi received a standing ovation during his first match after he scored alongside superstar Ronaldinho. Out of his seventeen League appearances he scored six goals. He scored one goal in six for the Champions League. In the 2006-2007 season, Messi was injured with a broken metatarsal, which took three months to heal. He was back in the game against Racing Santander, as a second-hand substitute. In March of that season he scored a hat trick against Real Madrid, which made him the first player since Ivan Zamorano to do so in the El Clasico. In the 2007-2008 season Messi led Barcelona into the top four of La Liga.
He won the nomination, as a forward, for a FIFA ProWorld XI Player Award and the Marca newspaper named him the best player in the world. Other newspapers followed and stated that Messi should be awarded the Ballon d'Or.
Lionel Messi is the highest paid soccer player in the world with an annual base salary of $44.68 million. Messi earns an additional $40 million every year from endorsements. Between June 2017 and June 2018, Lionel grossed $111 million, of which $30 million came from endorsements.
In his international career, Lionel has won the Golden Shoe and the Golden Ball. His first game in the Copa America was in 2007, when Argentina defeated the United States 4-1. His second game was against Colombia, in which Argentina defeated them 4-2 and put them in the tournament's quarterfinals. His third game was against Paraguay, in which Argentina came ahead again with a final score of 3-0. But in the final match, Argentina lost to Brazil. Messi went on to play in the World Cup and the Summer Olympics and many more games, with much success. He has acquired many awards and honors for his performances in football.
Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina. His father, Jorge Horacio Messi was a factory steel worker and his mother, Celia Maria Cuccittini was a part time cleaner. He has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and a sister, Maria Sol. When Lionel Messi was eleven, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, and his father could no longer afford medical treatment for him. The Sporting Director of FC Barcelona, Carles Rexach, offered to pay the medical bills if Messi could move to Spain. With Lionel father's approval, Rexach drew up a contract on a paper napkin and Messi and his father moved to Spain to begin hi professional career.
Messi is the founder of the organization, Leo Messi Foundation, which helps give children the best opportunities for education and health care. His foundation, with the help of Herbalife, helps to pay for medical treatment, transportation and recuperation for children diagnosed with major medical problems. Messi is also the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Messi has been featured on the covers of the Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 video games. He and Fernando Torres are the faces of the Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 video game and helped out with the trailer and motion capturing. Messi also does commercials for Adidas, Herbalife and more.


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/people/thomas-white/, people
Home / People / Thomas White
Engineering Building (32), E235
thomas.white@anu.edu.au
Perovskite photovoltaics, perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells, perovskite light emitters, light management for solar cells, photonic crystals, slow light, silicon photonics, nonlinear optics.
Associate Professor White's current research focus is on perovskite solar cells and tandems, with a particular interest in quantifying recombination and optical losses in these devices. Other research interests include perovskite light emitters and lasers, and their applications. In 2018 he was awarded a four-year Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to develop high efficiency perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells with efficiencies above 30%. He is involved in many research projects, including Stable Perovskite modules under real-world conditions, Durable Silicon Perovskite Tandem Photovoltaics, Development of stable electrodes for perovskite solar cells, and Monolithic perovskite – silicon tandem cells: towards commercial reality. Further details can be found on the Perovskite research group website.
Associate Professor White has a BSc(Hons) and PhD in physics from the University of Sydney, and has previously held research positions in the United States (Bell Laboratories) and the UK (University of St Andrews). He has published widely in areas of theoretical and experimental optics and photonics, nanostructure enhancement of light-matter interactions, and photovoltaics.
For further details on Associate Professor White's activities, please see this link.


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Q: Meta sites should be easier to distinguish in the iOS app when searching
The picture above is what I see when searching for the Personal Finance SE using 0.1.54 of the iOS app.
Since the name is so long, the word meta is not visible in the app and the color is the only way to distinguish. This is difficult for people that are colorblind or people like myself that just have no idea which is which.
The word "meta" should probably be first, not last when searching.

A: The site listing now displays the full site name, so it's easier to distinguish
between meta and non-meta sites.
This was fixed a while back.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Turkey or Chicken Newburg is sophisticated enough for adults (that's the Sherry talking) and kid-friendly, too. That is if your kids will eat mushrooms and peas. Both of mine were ok with the mushrooms. It was the peas that got them, so I usually used a few less than called for. And I guess that's also if you don't object to the smidge of Sherry in the dish. It works out to about a teaspoon in each full-sized serving, but I admit attitudes have changed since my kids were small.
Since this is a recipe that relies on cooked poultry, that makes this a perfect leftover dish. Minutes to toss together, Turkey or Chicken Newburg makes a perfect weeknight dinner.
If you don't have a big holiday turkey to go through, or leftover chicken (if you're cooking chicken for another dish earlier in the week, make a little extra just for this dish) it's still just minutes to poach a little chicken just for this dish. Just cover the chicken with water, bring to a simmer and gently simmer for about 10 minutes or so until done. Cool in the broth if time allows, and then shred.
Turkey or Chicken Newburg is one of those old-school dishes that always seems just a bit fancier than it is. And since it's so easy to toss together, I tend to think of dishes like this for gatherings at a cabin for a ski or snowmobile trip. Serve it over all kinds of things. It's great over biscuits, toast, and is really good over waffles. Now that's a Chicken & Waffle I can get behind. I like it served over popovers, like my Popovers in a Muffin Tin (My Updated Chicken a la King is another dish that goes great over popovers) and don't forget good old mashed potatoes for the ultimate comfort food. I'm showing it over Cheese Puffs, today, but if you're making this after a holiday, think of your leftover rolls or biscuits.
I just recently revised the cooing process for Turkey or Chicken Newburg. Originally my recipe started out with canned or jarred mushrooms – they were pretty popular back in the day when fresh wasn't available everywhere, but I'm guessing most people, today, are going to buy fresh mushrooms.
Also, a commenter objected to the amount of pepper in the dish and I agree with him. I personally like it with a lot of pepper, but my tastes aren't the same as everyone else's, even though I believe (as we probably all do) that I have great taste, lol! I've altered the recipe, below, and suggest you hold off on the seasoning until the dish is finished, then add salt and pepper to taste.
I think you'll find this dish pretty straightforward and easy. Just make sure to cook the flour with the butter and mushrooms long enough make sure any raw flour taste has disappeared. And use a whisk when you add the chicken broth. Your mushrooms may get caught in the whisk, but it's the best way to ensure that there are no lumps. Shake them out after the liquid is incorporated.
Look for chicken breast when it hits a low, and it generally will be about once a quarter. If it's in a family pack, break it down and freeze in portions that makes sense for your family's needs. Buy extra and freeze and you'll always have sales priced chicken to use for recipes like this. Because the chicken needs to be cooked ahead time, this is also a great go to when you have just a bit of chicken leftover from dinner the night before, or even a few vegetables in your fridge.
Mushrooms vary a lot in price depending on the type and when you buy them. This is a great recipe for the simple button mushroom. Did you know the button has all the same powerful nutritional properties as their pricier cousins? Bonus! I like to check around holidays when mushrooms are often on sale. When you get them home, poke a few holes in the plastic on top, turn the mushrooms over and store upside down. That prevents them from sitting any condensation on the bottom of the package. Ever notice the mushrooms on top of the package look gorgeous but those underneath may not be any good? That's why.
Half and half can be a pricey ingredient. Aldi has great prices for half and half and cream and so does Costco. You'll also find both half and half and cream on sales during most holidays. Since it keeps well, with its high-fat content, stock up on sale if you use either regularly and remember the "by buy" date is not an expiration date (Did you know there are no "expiration dates" at all? Just by buy or best by dates, both chosen by the producer.) and unopened both cream and half and half last well beyond.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms have given up most of their juices and started to slightly brown. Stir in flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring often. Add the chicken or turkey broth in small additions, stirring well after each, then half and half and sherry. Continue to simmer, stirring often, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Add the chicken, peas, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently until warmed through.
This entry was posted in Click here for Bargain Meals, Click here for Fabulous Food Posts and tagged Alcohol, Bargain Meal of the Week, Chicken, Cream, Half & Half, leftover Chicken, leftover turkey, Leftovers, mushrooms, Peas, sherry, Turkey, White sauce. Bookmark the permalink.
1/2 a teaspoon of pepper RUINED my sauce…please re-check your measurements. perhaps you switched the salt and pepper measurements.
Evan, my sincere apologies! 1/2 teaspoons of pepper IS a lot and I think you are correct in that the S &P may have been mixed up. I gave the recipe a quick alter, which wlll hopefully prevent any issues for anyone else. Thanks for stopping back and letting me know. I'll remake this as soon as possible to retest it.


DESDE FQ EUSKADI NOS SUMAMOS A LA INICIATIVA DE ARNASA PARA EL 8 DE SEPTIEMBRE EN ONDARROA QUE PRETENDE HACER MÁS VISIBLE LA FIBROSIS QUÍSTICA CON VARIAS ACTIVIDADES.
DESDE LAS 8 DE LA TARDE EN EL CASCO VIEJO, CON DIVERSAS ACTOS, BAILE Y MÜSICA PARA NIÑOS CON EL DJ LPUNTO.
TAMBIÉN SE INTENTARÁ RECAUDAR FONDOS.
ESE DÍA COINCIDE CON EL PINTXO POTE y ES POSIBLE QUE TAMBIÉN AYUDEN A LA CAUSA.
GRACIAS A TODOS LOS EVENTOS Y EMPRESAS QUE SE HAN SOLIDARIZADO CON ESTA CAUSA.


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EWE and DLR start a pilot project for underground hydrogen storage near Berlin
The German federal state of Brandenburg is becoming more and more a center for sustainable energy.
Maurits Kuypers
Subterranean spaces in salt rock have been used for many years for the storage of natural gas. The German energy company EWE, in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), is now testing something new in "Rüdersdorf bei Berlin", a small town east of the German capital. This is a cavity measuring 1000 meters deep with a capacity of 500 cubic meters (m3). That's enough for 5 to 6 metric tons of hydrogen. EWE President Stefan Dohler announced this at a press conference on Friday.
Construction will take just over a year. The first tests will follow in the spring of 2022. "One of the things we hope to find out over the course of 2022 is what happens to the purity of hydrogen when you store it in a salt cavern. This will be particularly important if the hydrogen is later used by the mobility sector."
Support from the German Government
The project will cost around €10 million, of which EWE will cover 40%. The rest will come from the German government, which sees a great future for hydrogen as an energy carrier.
EWE company site in Rüdersdorf bei Berlin, Photo EWE
According to EWE project leader Paul Schneider, the aim in the future is to use much larger subterranean spaces for storing hydrogen. This cavity of 500 m3 is roughly comparable to a single-family house. "The goal is storage in spaces of up to 500,000 m3 that will fit an entire Eifel tower."
37 salt caverns
EWE is building on its knowledge of the underground storage of natural gas. This has been done in Rüdersdorf bei Berlin since 2007. Caverns such as those there are formed by pumping water through salt rock. EWE has 37 of these types of underground storage facilities.
The choice of a location close to Berlin does not appear to be a coincidence. The federal state of Brandenburg – the region surrounding Berlin – has in recent years built up a reputation as a center for green energy. In Brandenburg, about two-thirds of all electricity comes from biomass, wind, and solar power plants.
EnBW solar park near the town of Werneuchen
Plenty of green projects around Berlin
Since November, the federal state can boast, among other things, the largest solar park in Germany near the city of Werneuchen. The EnBW energy group plans to expand this park even further next year. Ultimately, solar panels at Werneuchen should generate enough power for 130,000 households. Fortunately, Berlin with its 3.7 million inhabitants is just around the corner.
Another project that is attracting a lot of attention is the construction of the Tesla factory in Grünheide, which has the potential to provide a boost to all electromobility across Germany. Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to build the largest battery factory in the world in Brandenburg.
Apparently, this is working like a magnet on other manufacturers, because the chemical giant Basf and the American company Microvast have also settled on Brandenburg for a battery (parts) factory.
You can also read our other articles about hydrogen here.
On Innovation Origins you can read the latest news about the world of innovation every day. We want to keep it that way, but we can't do it alone! Are you enjoying our articles and would you like to support independent journalism? Become a member and read our stories guaranteed ad-free.
Maurits Kuypers graduated as a macroeconomist from the University of Amsterdam, specialising in international work. He has been active as a journalist since 1997, first for 10 years on the editorial staff of Het Financieele Dagblad in Amsterdam, then as a freelance correspondent in Berlin and Central Europe. When it comes to technological innovations, he always has an eye for the financial feasibility of a project.
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As a 26-year-old reading this, it made me laugh. Some memories of middle school are so clear. I could really relate to the "Whining kid".
Nice job! I'd like to see more pieces like this in different tweenie scenarios.
Great idea for more blogs. I raised four of them so I have an unlimited amount of scenarios. Thanks for reading.
Thank you. Sometimes I look back & understand why some species eat their young.


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Arsonist's Lullabye performed by Hozier (2014)
Arsonist's Lullabye
Song: Arsonist's Lullabye performed by Hozier
More by Hozier
Covers/Remixes of Arsonist's Lullabye
Pop Culture Connections - Incoming
What Television Episodes feature this Song?
It is played in...
The Walking Dead:
Season: 6 / Episode: 12
Not Tomorrow Yet
This Television Episode plays Arsonist's Lullabye performed by Hozier
This song plays in the closing scenes of the episode.
Episode: Not Tomorrow Yet part of The Walking Dead Season 6
More from The Walking Dead Season 6 part of The Walking Dead
The Originals:
Season: 2 / Episode: 5
In order to show Elijah that her plan is what's best for him, Esther forces him to relive a time long ago when he loved a young woman named Tatia, Amara's doppelganger (guest star Nina Dobrev). With the help of Marcel and Gia, Hayley is determined to find Elijah, who has gone missing but is torn when she discovers that Klaus is also in trouble. Elsewhere, Cami finds herself in a dangerous situation when Mikael takes her hostage as a way to lure Klaus to him, and Davina finds out who Kaleb really is. Lastly, a violent confrontation ensues when Klaus comes face-to-face with his father.
Episode: Red Door part of The Originals Season 2
More from The Originals Season 2 part of The Originals
Teen Wolf:
Episode: Smoke and Mirrors part of Teen Wolf Season 4
More from Teen Wolf Season 4 part of Teen Wolf
What Television Commercials feature this Song?
BBC One and Broken Commercial
Dates: May 2017 - August 2017
This Television Commercial plays Arsonist's Lullabye performed by Hozier
Starring Sean Bean and Anna Friel, Broken is a brand new BBC One drama by acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern "Broken: Trailer - BBC One" Please God, not this time. From acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern. You're sacked. What? Can I come and see you sometime? Why? You're in pain, but I'll be here thinking of you. And I'll be praying for you. This is Britain in the 21st Century. There must be something I can claim to feed my kids. You said that you've lived with shame, Michael. I can't tell the truth anymore. You said that you'd done something worse. Broken on BBC One. (Lyrics) When I was a child, I heard voices Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash Pure Drama BBC One Broken bbc.co.uk/bbcone
App/Product: Broken
App/Product: BBC One
App/Product: BBC One and Broken Commercial
Cherry Wine (Live)


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Sparks finds new light in 'Sparkle' debut
By Derrik J. Lang THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
When most singers make the leap from recording artist to movie star, it�s usually a well-calculated career maneuver that requires show-business acumen from an army of agents, acting coaches, managers and publicists. However, for bubbly sixth season �American Idol� champion Jordin Sparks, the jump from stage to screen just, well, kinda happened.
The way Sparks tells the story of how she became the title character in a remake of the 1976 musical �Sparkle� is that her music career was unexpectedly in flux last year while she was parting ways with her management and her label was undergoing a shake-up. Unable to record a new album and uncertain of her future, Sparks looked to another passion � acting.
�I was in this weird limbo and �Sparkle� just fell into my lap,� Sparks says. �My agent sent it to me and said, �What do you think? Do you wanna audition?� I read the script and fell in love with it. I related a lot to Sparkle. She�s a girl with a dream, and she�s gonna do whatever it takes to get to the top. I know something about a girl who that did that as well.�
Sparks won the �Idol� crown at the age of 17 and is now 22. She�s grown up in that time, losing her chubby teen frame for a svelte sexy figure, and has a regular boyfriend in fellow singer Jason Derulo. �Sparkle� represents her growth as an actress as well.
�Sparkle,� which opens Friday, tells the story of a Detroit singing sibling group attempting to break into the music industry in 1968. Sparks first auditioned for the part last July, scored the role in August and started rehearsing in September. She didn�t have a chance to work with an acting coach, but she nervously memorized the entire script, including the parts of Sparkle�s older sisters, played by Carmen Ejogo (�Love�s Labour�s Lost�) and Tika Sumpter (�One Life to Live�).
As if starring in her first feature film wasn�t nerve-racking enough, she learned that Whitney Houston, who had been working for 12 years with producer Debra Martin Chase to remake �Sparkle,� would be playing her strict churchgoing mother, Emma, who turned her life around after battling her own demons.
�It was nice to see Jordin, who was new to this; Whitney, who was a veteran and an icon; and in between Carmen and Tika, who were willing to listen and learn from one of the best,� says director Salim Akil. �It was something to watch and something I didn�t want to mess with because it created an emotional bond that plays over into their performances.�
Houston died Feb. 11 after accidentally drowning in a hotel room bathtub on the eve of the Grammy Awards. With Houston gone, �Sparkle� has become more than a potential breakout moment for Sparks. It�s serving as a tribute to the superstar.


In the case of a holiday observed by the Town of Bristol the Transfer Station will be closed and will reopen the following day (ex: if there is a holiday on Monday the transfer station will be closed and instead open on Tuesday).
General household garbage is collected at the upper Transfer Station. The Town's lower facility accepts construction and demolition debris, metals, burnable items, appliances, small propane tanks, leaves and wood products.
All material must be from a residence in the Town of Bristol. For more information about the rules and regulations of the Transfer Station please review the Ordinance.