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All the Birds in the Sky
Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Publisher: Tor, 2016
Titan Books, 2016
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Genre: Science-Fiction / Fantasy
Sub-Genre Tags: Science-Fantasy
Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic
Contemporary Fantasy
2016 Nebula Winner
2017 Locus F Winner
2017 Hugo Nominated
(233 reads / 123 ratings)
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From the editor-in-chief of io9.com, a stunning novel about the end of the world -- and the beginning of our future
Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again, after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during high school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families.
But now they're both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them. Laurence is an engineering genius who's working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention into the changing global climate. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world's magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world's ever-growing ailments. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together -- to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.
A deeply magical, darkly funny examination of life, love, and the apocalypse.
When Patricia was six years old, she found a wounded bird. The sparrow thrashed on top of a pile of wet red leaves in the crook of two roots, waving its crushed wing. Crying, in a pitch almost too high for Patricia to hear. She looked into the sparrow's eye, enveloped by a dark stripe, and she saw its fear. Not just fear, but also misery--as if this bird knew it would die soon. Patricia still didn't understand how the life could just go out of someone's body forever, but she could tell this bird was fighting against death with everything it had.
Patricia vowed with all her heart to do everything in her power to save this bird. This was what led to Patricia being asked a question with no good answer, which marked her for life.
She scooped up the sparrow with a dry leaf, very gently, and laid it in her red bucket. Rays of the afternoon sun came at the bucket horizontally, bathing the bird in red light so it looked radioactive. The bird was still whipping around, trying to fly with one wing.
"It's okay," Patricia told the bird. "I've got you. It's okay."
Patricia had seen creatures in distress before. Her big sister, Roberta, liked to collect wild animals and play with them. Roberta put frogs into a rusty Cuisinart that their mom had tossed out, and stuck mice into her homemade rocket launcher, to see how far she could shoot them. But this was the first time Patricia looked at a living creature in pain and really saw it, and every time she looked into the bird's eye she swore harder that this bird was under her protection.
"What's going on?" asked Roberta, smashing through the branches nearby.
Both girls were pale, with dark brown hair that grew super-straight no matter what you did and nearly button noses. But Patricia was a wild, grubby girl, with a round face, green eyes, and perpetual grass stains on her torn overalls. She was already turning into the girl the other girls wouldn't sit with, because she was too hyper, made nonsense jokes, and wept when anybody's balloon (not just her own) got popped. Roberta, meanwhile, had brown eyes, a pointy chin, and absolutely perfect posture when she sat without fidgeting in a grown-up chair and a clean white dress. With both girls, their parents had hoped for a boy and picked out a name in advance. Upon each daughter's arrival, they'd just stuck an a on the end of the name they already had.
"I found a wounded bird," Patricia said. "It can't fly, its wing is ruined."
"I bet I can make it fly," Roberta said, and Patricia knew she was talking about her rocket launcher. "Bring it here. I'll make it fly real good."
"No!" Patricia's eyes flooded and she felt short of breath. "You can't! You can't!" And then she was running, careening, with the red bucket in one hand. She could hear her sister behind her, smashing branches. She ran faster, back to the house.
Their house had been a spice shop a hundred years ago, and it still smelled of cinnamon and turmeric and saffron and garlic and a little sweat. The perfect hardwood floors had been walked on by visitors from India and China and everywhere, bringing everything spicy in the world. If Patricia closed her eyes and breathed deeply, she could imagine the people unloading wooden foil-lined crates stamped with names of cities like Marrakesh and Bombay. Her parents had read a magazine article about renovating Colonial trade houses and had snapped up this building, and now they were constantly yelling at Patricia not to run indoors or scratch any of the perfect oak furnishings, until their foreheads showed veins. Patricia's parents were the sort of people who could be in a good mood and angry at almost the same time.
Patricia paused in a small clearing of maples near the back door. "It's okay," she told the bird. "I'll take you home. There's an old birdcage in the attic. I know where to find it. It's a nice cage, it has a perch and a swing. I'll put you in there, I'll tell my parents. If anything happens to you, I will hold my breath until I faint. I'll keep you safe. I promise."
"No," the bird said. "Please! Don't lock me up. I would prefer you just kill me now."
"But," Patricia said, more startled that the bird was refusing her protection than that he was speaking to her. "I can keep you safe. I can bring you bugs or seeds or whatever."
"Captivity is worse than death for a bird like me," the sparrow said. "Listen. You can hear me talking. Right? That means you're special. Like a witch! Or something. And that means you have a duty to do the right thing. Please."
"Oh." This was all a lot for Patricia to take in. She sat down on a particularly large and grumpy tree root, with thick bark that felt a little damp and sort of like sawtooth rocks. She could hear Roberta beating the bushes and the ground with a big Y-shaped stick, over in the next clearing, and she worried about what would happen if Roberta heard them talking. "But," Patricia said, quieter so that Roberta would not hear. "But your wing is hurt, right, and I need to take care of you. You're stuck."
"Well." The bird seemed to think about this for a moment. "You don't know how to heal a broken wing, do you?" He flapped his bad wing. He'd looked just sort of gray-brown at first, but up close she could see brilliant red and yellow streaks along his wings, with a milk-white belly and a dark, slightly barbed beak.
"No. I don't know anything. I'm sorry!"
"Okay. So you could just put me up in a tree and hope for the best, but I'll probably get eaten or starve to death." His head bobbed. "Or... I mean. There is one thing."
"What?" Patricia looked at her knees, through the thready holes in her denim overalls, and thought her kneecaps looked like weird eggs. "What?" She looked over at the sparrow in the bucket, who was in turn studying her with one eye, as if trying to decide whether to trust her.
"Well," the bird chirped. "I mean, you could take me to the Parliament of Birds. They can fix a wing, no problem. And if you're going to be a witch, then you should meet them anyway. They're the smartest birds around. They always meet at the most majestic tree in the forest. Most of them are over five years old."
"I'm older than that," Patricia said. "I'm almost seven, in four months. Or five." She heard Roberta getting closer, so she snatched up the bucket and took off running, deeper into the woods.
The sparrow, whose name was Dirrpidirrpiwheepalong, or Dirrp for short, tried to give Patricia directions to the Parliament of Birds as best he could, but he couldn't see where he was going from inside the bucket. And his descriptions of the landmarks to watch for made no sense to Patricia. The whole thing reminded her of one of the Cooperation exercises at school, which she was hopeless at ever since her only friend, Kathy, moved away. At last, Patricia perched Dirrp on her finger, like Snow White, and he bounced onto her shoulder.
The sun went down. The forest was so thick, Patricia could barely see the stars or the moon, and she tumbled a few times, scraping her hands and her knees and getting dirt all over her new overalls. Dirrp clung to the shoulder strap of her overalls so hard, his talons pinched her and almost broke her skin. He was less and less sure where they were going, although he was pretty sure the majestic Tree was near some kind of stream or maybe a field. He definitely thought it was a very thick tree, set apart from other trees, and if you looked the right way the two big branches of the Parliamentary Tree fanned like wings. Also, he could tell the direction pretty easily by the position of the sun. If the sun had still been out.
"We're lost in the woods," Patricia said with a shiver. "I'm probably going to be eaten by a bear."
"I don't think there are bears in this forest," Dirrp said. "And if one attacks us, you could try talking to it."
"So I can talk to all animals now?" Patricia could see this coming in useful, like if she could convince Mary Fenchurch's poodle to bite her the next time Mary was mean to Patricia. Or if the next nanny her parents hired owned a pet.
"I don't know," Dirrp said. "Nobody ever explains anything to me."
Patricia decided there was nothing to do but climb the nearest tree and see if she could see anything from it. Like a road. Or a house. Or some landmark that Dirrp might recognize.
It was much colder on top of the big old oak that Patricia managed to jungle-gym her way up. The wind soaked into her as if it were water instead of just air. Dirrp covered his face with his one good wing and had to be coaxed to look around. "Oh, okay," he quavered, "let me see if I can make sense of this landscape. This is not really what you call a bird's-eye view. A real bird's-eye view would be much, much higher than this. This is a squirrel's-eye view, at best."
Dirrp jumped off and scampered around the treetop until he spotted what he thought might be one of the signpost trees leading to the Parliamentary Tree. "We're not too far." He sounded perkier already. "But we should hurry. They don't always meet all night, unless they're debating a tricky measure. Or having Question Time. But you'd better hope it's not Question Time."
"What's Question Time?"
"You don't want to know," Dirrp said.
Patricia was finding it much harder to get down from the treetop than it was to get up, which seemed unfair. She kept almost losing her grip, and the drop was nearly a dozen feet.
"Hey, it's a bird!" a voice said from the darkness just as Patricia reached the ground. "Come here, bird. I only want to bite you."
"Oh no," Dirrp said.
"I promise I won't play with you too much," the voice said. "It'll be fun. You'll see!"
"Who is that?" Patricia asked.
"Tommington," Dirrp said. "He's a cat. He lives in a house with people, but he comes into the forest and kills a lot of my friends. The Parliament is always debating what to do about him."
"Oh," Patricia said. "I'm not scared of a little kitty."
Tommington jumped, pushing off a big log, and landed on Patricia's back, like a missile with fur. And sharp claws. Patricia screeched and nearly fell on her face. "Get off me!" she said.
"Give me the bird!" Tommington said.
The white-bellied black cat weighed almost as much as Patricia. He bared his teeth and hissed in Patricia's ear as he scratched at her.
Patricia did the only thing that came to mind: She clamped one hand over poor Dirrp, who was hanging on for dear life, and threw her head forward and down until she was bent double and her free hand was almost touching her toes. The cat went flying off her back, haranguing as he fell.
"Shut up and leave us alone," Patricia said.
"You can talk. I never met a human who could talk before. Give me that bird!"
"No," Patricia said. "I know where you live. I know your owner. If you are naughty, I will tell. I will tell on you." She was kind of fibbing. She didn't know who owned Tommington, but her mother might. And if Patricia came home covered with bites and scratches her mother would be mad. At her but also at Tommington's owner. You did not want Patricia's mom mad at you, because she got mad for a living and was really good at it.
Tommington had landed on his toes, his fur all spiked and his ears like arrowheads. "Give me that bird!" he shrieked.
"No!" Patricia said. "Bad cat!" She threw a rock at Tommington. He yowled. She threw another rock. He ran away.
"Come on," Patricia said to Dirrp, who didn't have much choice in the matter. "Let's get out of here."
"We can't let that cat know where the Parliament is," Dirrp whispered. "If he follows us, he could find the Tree. That would be a disaster. We should wander in circles, as though we are lost."
"We are lost," Patricia said.
"I have a pretty reasonably shrewd idea of where we go from here," said Dirrp. "At least, a sort of a notion."
Something rustled in the low bushes just beyond the biggest tree, and for a second the moonlight glinted off a pair of eyes, framed by white fur, and a collar tag.
"We are finished!" Dirrp whispered in a pitiful warble. "That cat can stalk us forever. You might as well give me to your sister. There is nothing to be done."
"Wait a minute." Patricia was remembering something about cats and trees. She had seen it in a picture book. "Hang on tight, bird. You hang on tight, okay?" Dirrp's only response was to cling harder than ever to Patricia's overalls. Patricia looked at a few trees until she found one with sturdy enough branches, and climbed. She was more tired than the first time, and her feet slipped a couple of times. One time, she pulled herself up to the next branch with both hands and then looked at her shoulder and didn't see Dirrp. She lost her breath until she saw his head poke up nervously to look over her shoulder, and she realized he'd just been clinging to the strap farther down on her back.
At last they were on top of the tree, which swayed a little in the wind. Tommington was not following them. Patricia looked around twice in all directions before she saw a round fur shape scampering on the ground nearby.
"Stupid cat!" she shouted. "Stupid cat! You can't get us!"
"The first person I ever met who could talk," Tommington yowled. "And you think I'm stupid? Grraah! Taste my claws!"
The cat, who'd probably had lots of practice climbing one of those carpeted perches at home, ran up the side of the tree, pounced on one branch and then a higher branch. Before Patricia and Dirrp even knew what was going on, the cat was halfway up.
"We're trapped! What were you thinking?" Dirrp sang out.
Patricia waited until Tommington had reached the top, then swung down the other side of the tree, dropping from branch to branch so fast she almost pulled her arm out, and then landed on the ground on her butt with an oof.
"Hey," Tommington said from the top of the tree, where his big eyes caught the moonlight. "Where did you go? Come back here!"
"You are a mean cat," Patricia said. "You are a bully, and I'm going to leave you up there. You should think about what you've been doing. It's not nice to be mean. I will make sure someone comes and gets you tomorrow. But you can stay up there for now. I have to go do something. Goodbye."
"Wait!" Tommington said. "I can't stay up here. It's too high! I'm scared! Come back!"
Patricia didn't look back. She heard Tommington yelling for a long time, until they crossed a big line of trees. They got lost twice more, and at one point Dirrp began weeping into his good wing, before they stumbled across the track that led to the secret Tree. And from there, it was just a steep backbreaking climb, up a slope studded with hidden roots.
Patricia saw the top of the Parliamentary Tree first, and then it seemed to grow out of the landscape, becoming taller and more overwhelming as she approached. The Tree was sort of bird shaped, as Dirrp had said, but instead of feathers it had dark spiky branches with fronds that hung to the ground. It loomed like the biggest church in the world. Or a castle. Patricia had never seen a castle, but she guessed they would rise over you like that.
A hundred pairs of wings fluttered at their arrival and then stopped. A huge collection of shapes shrank into the Tree.
"It's okay," Dirrp called out. "She's with me. I hurt my wing. She brought me here to get help."
The only response, for a long time, was silence. Then an eagle raised itself up, from near the top of the Tree, a white-headed bird with a hooked beak and pale, probing eyes. "You should not have brought her here," the eagle said.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Dirrp said. "But it's okay. She can talk. She can actually talk." Dirrp pivoted, to speak into Patricia's ear. "Show them. Show them!"
"Uh, hi," Patricia said. "I'm sorry if we bothered you. But we need your help!"
At the sound of a human talking, all of the birds went into a huge frenzy of squawking and shouting until a big owl near the eagle banged a rock against the branch and shouted, "Order, order."
The eagle leaned her white fluffy head forward and studied Patricia. "So you're to be the new witch in our forest, are you?"
"I'm not a witch." Patricia chewed her thumb. "I'm a princess."
"You had better be a witch." The eagle's great dark body shifted on the branch. "Because if you're not, then Dirrp has broken the law by bringing you to us. And he'll need to be punished. We certainly won't help fix his wing, in that case."
"Oh," Patricia said. "Then I'm a witch. I guess."
"Ah." The eagle's hooked beak clicked. "But you will have to prove it. Or both you and Dirrp will be punished."
Patricia did not like the sound of that. Various other birds piped up, saying, "Point of order!" and a fidgety crow was listing important areas of Parliamentary procedure. One of them was so insistent that the eagle was forced to yield the branch to the Honorable Gentleman from Wide Oak--who then forgot what he was going to say.
"So how do I prove that I'm a witch?" Patricia wondered if she could run away. Birds flew pretty fast, right? She probably couldn't get away from a whole lot of birds, if they were mad at her. Especially magical birds.
"Well." A giant turkey in one of the lower branches, with wattles that looked a bit like a judge's collar, pulled himself upright and appeared to consult some markings scratched into the side of the Tree before turning and giving a loud, learned "glrp" sound. "Well," he said again, "there are several methods that are recognized in the literature. Some of them are trials of death, but we might skip those for the moment perhaps. There are also some rituals, but you need to be of a certain age to do those. Oh yes, here's a good one. We could ask her the Endless Question."
"Ooh, the Endless Question," a grouse said. "That's exciting."
"I haven't heard anyone answer the Endless Question before," said a goshawk. "This is more fun than Question Time."
"Umm," said Patricia. "Is the Endless Question going to take a long time? Because I bet my mom and dad are worried about me." It was hitting her all over again that she was up way past her bedtime and she hadn't had dinner and she was out in the middle of the freezing woods, not to mention she was still lost.
"Too late," the grouse said.
"We're asking it," said the eagle.
"Here is the question," said the turkey. "Is a tree red?"
"Uh," Patricia said. "Can you give me a hint? Umm. Is that 'red' like the color?" The birds didn't answer. "Can you give me more time? I promise I'll answer, I just need more time to think. Please. I need more time. Please?"
The next thing Patricia knew, her father scooped her up in his arms. He was wearing his sandpaper shirt and his red beard was in her face and he kept half-dropping her, because he was trying to draw complicated valuation formulas with his hands while carrying her. But it was still so warm and perfect to be carried home by her daddy that Patricia didn't care.
"I found her right on the outskirts of the woods near the house," her father told her mother. "She must have gotten lost and found her own way out. It's a miracle she's okay."
"You nearly scared us to death. We've been searching, along with all of the neighbors. I swear you must think my time is worthless. You've made me blow a deadline for a management productivity analysis." Patricia's mother had her dark hair pulled back, which made her chin and nose look pointier. Her bony shoulders hunched, almost up to her antique earrings.
"I just want to understand what this is about," Patricia's father said. "What did we do that made you want to act out in this way?" Roderick Delfine was a real-estate genius who often worked from home and looked after the girls when they were between nannies, sitting in a high chair at the breakfast bar with his wide face buried in equations. Patricia herself was pretty good at math, except when she thought too much about the wrong things, like the fact that the number 3 looked like an 8 cut in half, so two 3s really ought to be 8.
"She's testing us," Patricia's mother said. "She's testing our authority, because we've gone too easy on her." Belinda Delfine had been a gymnast, and her own parents had put several oceans' worth of pressure on her to excel at that--but she'd never understood why gymnastics needed to have judges, instead of measuring everything using cameras and maybe lasers. She'd met Roderick after he started coming to all her meets, and they'd invented a totally objective gymnastics measuring system that nobody had ever adopted.
"Look at her. She's just laughing at us," Patricia's mother said, as if Patricia herself weren't standing right there. "We need to show her we mean business."
Patricia hadn't thought she was laughing, at all, but now she was terrified she looked that way. She tried extra hard to fix a serious expression on her face.
"I would never run away like that," said Roberta, who was supposed to be leaving the three of them alone in the kitchen but had come in to get a glass of water, and gloat.
They locked Patricia in her room for a week, sliding food under her door. The bottom of the door tended to scrape off the top layer of whatever type of food it was. Like if it was a sandwich, the topmost piece of bread was taken away by the door. You don't really want to eat a sandwich after your door has had the first bite, but if you get hungry enough you will. "Think about what you've done," the parents said.
"I get all her desserts for the next seven years," Roberta said.
"No you don't!" said Patricia.
The whole experience with the Parliament of Birds became a sort of blur to Patricia. She remembered it mostly in dreams and fragments. Once or twice, in school, she had a flashback of a bird asking her something. But she couldn't quite remember what the question had been, or whether she'd answered it. She had lost the ability to understand the speech of animals while she was locked in her bedroom.
Copyright © 2016 by Charlie Jane Anders
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Former MPs who lost their seats not be appointed in Akufo-Addo's 2nd term
Blocking EC interrogatories surprising to all lawyers – Mahama's legal team in shock disbelief over ruling
Ghana must reconnect the tenets of biodiversity security
Election Petition: Mahama's 12 interrogatories that were dismissed by the Supreme Court
Bawumia's released list of staffers demistifies northern hegemony propaganda
Coronavirus: Ashesi University, GIS lose staff
Election Petition: Mahama presses EC to admit to errors made in the declaration
US Center for Disease Control warns travelers to stay away from Ghana over rising
Akufo-Addo's order for police to enforce mask-wearing is a huge 'bonanza' for them – NDC Lawyer
Ghana EC Fraud Allegations Chase Charlotte Osei To Afghanistan
The Afghan media has started publishing the fraud allegations which led to the impeachment of Ghana's first female Electoral Commission Chairperson, Mrs Charlotte Osei, who is currently serving as an International Elections Commissioner for the UN in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Mrs Osei reported to Kabul on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 and started work. Mrs Osei joined a team of other UN-appointed election experts from around the world to provide much-needed technical support, capacity-building and electoral best practice advice to the Election Complaints Commission and the Independent Electoral Commission charged with delivering a peaceful democratic process and credible elections as Afghanistan prepares to hold presidential polls in September 2019.
Mrs Osei is a lawyer, who served as Ghana's EC boss from 2015 until she was dismissed in June 2018 on grounds of financial malfeasance, an allegation she denied.
Even though she is now on international assignment, the same issues which led to her removal back home appear to have followed her all the way to Kabul, Afghanistan, as the media there have started raising fraud allegations against her.
One of such reports was by the Daily Outlook Afghanistan as captured below http://www.outlookafghanistan.net/national_detail.php?post_id=23824:
IECC Foreign Commissioner from Ghana Accused of Fraud
KABUL – In line with the election law, two members of the IECC should be foreigners who would share their experiences with local commissioners for free and fair polls and would bring their expertise into practice for transparent polls.
Mrs Charlotte Osei breached procurement laws in the award of several contracts, prior to the 2016 elections in Ghana, the Graphic Online claimed.
Their removal was based on recommendations from a committee that investigated corruption and misconduct allegations against them. They accused Mrs Osei of taking unilateral decisions without recourse to the appropriate departments of the EC.
The group also accused the EC chair of engaging of fraudulent activities, citing her decision to cancel a contract awarded to Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) to supply and manage Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) machines and Biometric Voter Devices (BVDs), as well as her directive for the payment of $76,000 to IT firm, Dream Oval.
After about a year of investigations, the Chief Justice's committee handed over its report to the presidency.
Minister of Information Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said:"This was after the Committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, pursuant to Article 146(4) of the Constitution, to investigate separate complaints brought against the three persons by Ghanaian citizens, recommended their removal from office."
There is evidence on record that before the 2016 general elections the Electoral Commission secured donor support from the USAID through the Ministry of Finance.
The support was for a sum of $2,367,500.00 which the Electoral Commission was to apply to improve its ICT environment.
In October 2016, the chairperson, the minister of finance/designate and the USAID mission director signed a grant document titled 'Implementation letter Number 641-Ai0-FY14IL#03 under DOAG No. 641-001 Strengthened Responsive, Democratic Governance for support to the Electoral Commission of Ghana for a New Activity: Enhancing Inclusive in Ghana's Electoral process'(hereinafter referred to as the Grant Document).
In a bid to procure the services of a contractor for the said project, three quotations were received by the commission for consideration. Indeed, according to the chairperson, she personally recommended Dreamoval Ltd which was a group from Ashesi University.
She testified the director of finance submitted the names of two other companies, namely Premium Tech & Business Consultancy Services and Change Investment (Ghana) Ltd.
From these three companies, the chairperson, the director of finance and the head of the donor desk selected Dreamoval for the contract.
As a result, an initial contract worth $32,510.00 was awarded to Dreamoval Ltd. to re-design a website for the Electoral Commission.
After the completion of the initial contract for re-designing the website of the Electoral Commission, Dreamoval had to offer extended technical services to the poll panel to protect the website which was under cyber-attack.
According to the chairperson, Dreamoval Ltd had to work round the clock to avoid a breakdown of the website. After the extended work, Dreamoval submitted an additional bill of $76,000.00.
The chairperson discussed the new bill from Dreamoval with the USAID, which agreed to pay provided there was a contract for the additional or extra work done by Dreamoval.
There is evidence on record that apart from the contract to repackage the strategic plan for the commission, funded by UNDP, Quazar Ltd was awarded another contract to develop a logo for the panel at a cost of GHC23,470.01.
This contract was funded by the government of Ghana. On completion of the work, the director of finance and the chief accountant wrote on the 8th of March, 2016 to the Bank of Ghana to transfer $6,080.31 being the equivalent of GHC23, 470.01 into the account of Quazar Ltd at the First National Bank, Guateng.
Two contracts were awarded to Quazar Ltd. The first was about repackaging a strategic plan of the commission funded by the UNDP.
The second contract for developing a logo for the commission was funded by the government of Ghana. It is clear from the evidence that the allegation that the chairperson unilaterally awarded contracts to Quazar Ltd is not true.
The contract to repackage the strategic plan was awarded after a meeting of stakeholders was held at the instance of the UNDP.
The contract was awarded after three quotations submitted by three companies had been evaluated by a three-man evaluation panel, chaired by the director of finance of the electoral commission.
On the 31st of May 2016, the director of finance of the commission wrote to the UNDP country director to effect direct payments to Quazar Ltd for the work done.
The problem with the contract awarded to Quazar for the repackaging of the strategic plan was the method used to engage Quazar Ltd.
The evidence disclosed the commission had used a restricted bidding procurement process, which identified three companies to submit quotations.
In view of the fact that a restricted tender was used, prior approval of the Public Procurement Authority was required under Section 38 of Act 663, as amended, for the process to be lawful.
Source: peacefmonline.com
NDC Explains Delay In Two Regional Executives Election
NDC will pass Employment Act in next government – Sammy Gyamfi
Kyebi: NDC Executive Assaulted Over Okyenhene Insult
Incompetent Valerie Sawyer evidence of Mahama's lack of vision – NDC group
Volta NDC to sign performance contract with Mahama
Ghanaian musicians must focus on digital promotions – Frank Harrison
Ghana Trending Online3 days ago
Shatta Wale brags in a new video that explains his 'beef' with Burna Boy
'Unapologetic' Lydia Forson roasts Kwasi Aboagye, Arnold, Socrate Safo for chastising her
Artiste shares why most media houses don't play his songs
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Group kicks against calls for dismissal of Chief Imam's spokesperson
Kumasi Youth Association Honours Boakye Agyarko Osei Assibey Et-Al
Isaac Mensah ready to fight for Hearts of Oak place
Osafo-Maafo, Kan-Dapaah, others are old, appoint youthful Ministers – NPP Man
Supreme Court To Rule On Constitutionality Of Auditor Generals GH184 Million Surcharge Of Zoomlion
Album Launch – My Praise by Minister Seth Kofi
Ghana's President, A Replica of Uganda's Idi Amin
RE: ''DAMANGO YOUTH BOYCOTTS YOUTH IN FORESTRY PROGRAM''
WEST HILLS MALL IS BETTER THAN A&C MALL
Mass registration for Ghana Card begins next Monday
Emmanuel Annobil
God is good...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Temporary removal of unwanted hair.
Waxing is a quick, effective and hygienic method to removing unwanted hair on the face and the body. Hair needs to be half a centimetre in length, this it to make sure the hair is removed successfully. The re-growth can be waxed between 2-8 weeks depending on the speed of the growth. We use LYCON hot wax for all hollywood and brazilian waxes, hairs can be as short as 1mm for this waxing.


Toomevara author Brendan Lynch was invited to speak at the recent launch of FBD's new Dublin office on the site of one of the Dublin's and Europe's most famous literary establishments, Parsons Bookshop.
Brendan explained 'It was a pleasant surprise to see a commercial company being so appreciative of local history. The shop was second home in the 1950s to the likes of Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan, Flann O'Brien and Mary Lavin. Maeve Binchy and Seamus Heaney were also regulars.
FBD's Derek Ivory confirmed that the company will allow Brendan the honour of launching his new book, Princess of the Universe, at their historic premises in late September.


text:
Tag Archives: Rio4Ag
Taking Stock: Jul 2012 round-up of news from ILRI
Posted on August 1, 2012 by Susan MacMillan
JEFF HASKINS
Last month, we at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and within CGIAR and the wider agricultural development communities grieved over the sudden loss of American media guru Jeff Haskins, who had spent six years in Africa covering African agriculture news stories for the American PR firm Burness Communications. Haskins, who had just turned 32, died at the Kenya coast on 14 Jul 2012. See online tributes to him from the ILRI News Blog (with links to 25 major news releases and 20 major opinion pieces that ILRI produced with the help of Jeff and his Burness team over the last five years), Pictures of Jeff Haskins (ILRI Pinterest Board), Pictures by Jeff Haskins (ILRI Pinterest Board), Burness Communications Blog, Global Crop Diversity Trust, CGIAR, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, La Vie Verte and Jeff Haskins Facebook page.
MAPPING ZOONOSES
Before his untimely death, Jeff Haskins in early Jul orchestrated major and widespread media coverage of a groundbreaking report by ILRI revealing a heavy burden of zoonoses, or human diseases transmitted from animals, facing one billion of the world's poor. Some 60 per cent of all human diseases originate in animal populations. The ILRI study found five countries—Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria—to be hotspots of poverty and zoonoses. The study also found that northeastern United States, Western Europe (especially the United Kingdom), Brazil and parts of Southeast Asia may be hotspots of 'emerging zoonoses'—those that are newly infecting humans, are newly virulent, or have newly become drug resistant. The study, Mapping of Poverty and Likely Zoonoses Hotspots, examined the likely impacts of livestock intensification and climate change on the 13 zoonotic diseases currently causing the greatest harm to the world's poor. It was developed with support from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID).
An opinion piece by the main author of the study, ILRI veterinary epidemiologist Delia Grace, wearing her hat as a member of the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium, appeared this Jul in The Guardian's Poverty Matters Blog.
ILRI AWARD
Azage Tegegne, of ILRI and the Improving Productivity and Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers (IPMS) project, was awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree by Ethiopia's prestigious Bahir Dar University.
ILRI STAFF
ILRI bid goodbye to Bruce Scott, who served ILRI as a director for 13 years, the last decade as director of ILRI's partnerships and communications department. Bruce is moving only down the road in Nairobi, from Kabete to Westlands, where he is taking up the position of deputy director of a new initiative of Columbia University (USA): Columbia Global Centers ⁄ Africa.
ILRI & FODDER AT RIO+20
We compiled links to ILRI inputs to the Rio+20 conference, including how to 'turn straw into gold' with dual-purpose crop residues and, with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), how livestock feed innovations can reduce poverty and livestock's environmental 'hoofprint'.
ILRI produced a policy brief on 'Preventing and controlling classical swine fever in northeast India'.
We film interviewed ILRI director general Jimmy Smith on ILRI's evolving new livestock strategy and on ILRI's role in providing evidence about the 'bads' as well as 'goods' of livestock production, marketing and consumption. And we interviewed ILRI scientist Joerg Jores on his research results, which, as reported in Scientific American, show that the pathogen that causes cattle pneumonia (CBPP) arose with domestication of ruminants ten thousand years ago, but only 'heated up' and began causing disease relatively recently.
VIP VISITORS
An Australian contingent visited ILRI this month and launched a new initiative, the Australian International Food Security Centre, to improve food security in Africa. The centre, which falls under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), will spend USD33.8 million over four years to support food production in Africa as well as in Asia and the Pacific region.
We reported on the signing of a memorandum of understanding by ILRI and Korea's Rural Development Authority (RDA) for laboratory work in Kenya, innovative platforms in an imGoats project in India and Mozambique, and training sessions on controlling zoonoses conducted by the Vietnamese members of an ILRI-led project known by its acronym EcoZD ('Ecosystem Approaches to the Better Management of Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases in Southeast Asia').
SELECTED RECENT PRESENTATIONS
Azage Tegegne Livestock and irrigation value chains for Ethiopian smallholders (LIVES) project, Addis Ababa, Jun (256 views).
Danilo Pezo Smallholder pig value chain development in Uganda, Wakiso, Jun (1186 views).
Derek Baker Livestock farming in developing countries: An essential resource, World Meat Congress, Paris, Jun (874 views).
Derek Baker Interpreting trader networks as value chains: Experience with Business Development Services in smallholder dairy in Tanzania and Uganda, ILRI Nairobi, Jun (1879 views).
Peter Ballantyne Open knowledge sharing to support learning in agricultural and livestock research for development projects, Addis Ababa, Jun (1589 views).
John Lynam Applying a systems framework to research on African farming systems, CGIAR drylands workshop, Nairobi, Jun (1884 views).
Bernard Bett Spatial-temporal analysis of the risk of Rift Valley fever in Kenya, European Geosciences Union Conference, Vienna, Apr (1164 views).
Nancy Johnson The production and consumption of livestock products in developing countries: Issues facing the world's poor, Farm Animal Integrated Research Conference, Washington DC, Mar (542 views).
Posted in Animal Diseases, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Crop Residues, CRP37, CRP4, Directorate, Drylands, Epidemiology, Ethiopia, Forages, Geodata, ILRI, India, MarketOpps, Mozambique, Nigeria, PA, UK, USA, Vietnam	| Tagged 2012Rio+20, 2012RioPlus20, ACIAR, Australian International Food Security Centre, Azage Tegegne, Bernard Bett, Bruce Scott, CBPP, CIAT, Classical swine fever, Danilo Pezo, Delia Grace, Derek Baker, DFID, Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium, EcoZD, imGoats, Jimmy Smith, Joerg Jores, John Lynam, Korea, LIVES, Nancy Johnson, Peter Ballantyne, RDA, Rift Valley fever, Rio4Ag, Scientific American, Taking Stock Jul 2012, The Guardian's Poverty Matters Blog	| 1 Reply
The road back to Rio: Turning straw into gold — Crop 'wastes' at the heart of greener livestock development
Posted on June 18, 2012 by Susan MacMillan
A West Bengal cow consumes straw (photo credit: ILRI/Susan MacMillan).
Key findings were presented today on ways to enhance the value of coarse crop 'wastes'—better termed 'residues'—as feed for cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats and other ruminant farm animals. The talk was given at a 'learning event' that is part of Agriculture Day at the Rio-20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
Carlos Seré, former director general of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) now serving as chief strategist for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), delivered this presentation on behalf of Michael Blümmel, an animal nutritionist based in ILRI's office in Hyderabad, India, who could not make the event as scheduled.
The gist of the presentation is that wheat and rice straw, maize stover, groundnut haulms and other residues of crops that remain after their grain or pods have been harvested for human consumption are major feed resources for livestock in developing countries. Widespread and increasing shortages of arable land and water in these countries are increasing the importance of these crop residues for livestock feed, and their importance will only increase over the coming decades as human population grows and as more and more people move out of poverty and begin adding more milk and meat to their diets.
In recent years, livestock and crop improvement researchers have worked together to improve the fodder value, in terms of both quantity and quality, of crop residues at their source. They've done this in crop improvement programs that incorporate fodder traits in crop selection, breeding and new cultivar release criteria. Key cereals and legumes are tackled and both conventional and molecular breeding techniques are employed. Fodder traders and feed processors have started employing additional interventions to further improve the superior crop straws and stover.
The following examples illustrate the many promising findings from this collaborative fodder research.
01 Nutritionally significant variations exist in crop residue fodder value among existing cultivars that can be exploited through simple phenotyping without detriment to primary crop traits such as grain and pod yields.
As a ballpark figure, 5 percentage units in digestibility can be exploited in crop residue fodder quality without detriment to gain or pod yield in all key cereal and leguminous crops. The advantage of daily milk yield accruing from 5% difference in digestibility of basal diet in well designed ration is about 5 kg per day due to a multiplicator effect from both higher energy concentration in the diet and higher intake.
02 Simple and network-sharable food/feed/fodder nutritional phenotyping techniques have been established, such as near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) platforms that support whole-plant crop improvement paradigms and programs.
ILRI NIRS platforms in India and Ethiopia are being used by other research programs (e.g., the new CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish) and research organizations (e.g., the International Center from Tropical Agriculture and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas). Staff of national agricultural research institutions from the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have been trained in the NIRS technology and have access to network-shared NIRS equations. NIRS is increasingly being used to test for more qualitative grain traits such as lysine, tryptophan, iron, zinc and polyunsaturated fatty acids, with the aim of optimizing whole plants. This collaborative research is facilitating the analysis of 50 to 100 cultivars every day and gaining information about all their pertinent grain and crop residue traits.
03 Fodder value can be further increased through conventional crop breeding (such as recurrent selection) and molecular crop breeding (such as quantitative trait loci [QTL] identification and backcrossing).
Identification of stay-green QTLs and their backcrossing into elite sorghum varieties could increase stover digestibility by 3 to 5 percentage units while also increasing the sorghum plant's drought resistance and water-use efficiencies.
04 In mixed crop-and-livestock agricultural production systems, the rates of adoption of new crop cultivars improved for both food and feed/fodder traits appear to be better than that for adoption of new cultivars improved for food traits only.
In a recent maize project in East Africa, farmers ranked stover traits 2.4 and grain yield 2.9 on a scale of 3. Farmers were most likely to adopt new maize cultivars that had improved stover as well as grain traits. Anecdotal evidence from groundnut adoption studies in India suggests that farmers prefer relatively small additive advantages—say 10% more pod + 10% more haulm + 10% more haulm quality—over (often theoretical) drastic increases in pod yield.
05 Participants in fodder value chains for straw and stover profit from superior straw and stover.
Price premiums for 3 to 5 percentage units in digestibility are in the range of 10 to 30%. There is higher demand for higher quality crop residues and superior sorghum stover is now regularly transported more than 400 km in parts of India. There are significant employment opportunities in harvesting, chopping, transporting and selling these crop residues.
06 Further improvement of superior straw and stover, in the form of supplementation, fortification or densification, can be done in feed processing, with productivity levels achieved from such processed but largely by-product-based feeds being four or more times greater than current levels of production.
Complete rations based on more than on 80% by-products (50–60% straws and stovers) can support 15–16 kg of milk daily in dairy buffaloes, about 1 kg live-weight gain in cattle and 120–130 g in sheep. Complete rations are suitable for smallholder farmers because the rations need not entail complex feed processing options; simply chopping and supplementing residues can suffice.
07 Increasing current yields of animals in India, such as by doubling the average daily yield of 3.6 kg of milk (across buffalo, crossbred and local cattle herds), would reduce levels of greenhouse gases dramatically, decreasing methane emission from dairy production by more than 1 million tons per year.
This is straightforward; increasing average daily milk yields in India from 3.6 to 6 to 7 kg per animal per day would reduce methane production from dairy animals relative to the same amount of milk produced by about 1 million tons per year.
In addition, there are good prospects for mainstreaming such multi-dimensional crop improvement outputs. For example, new CGIAR Research Programs (such as those on maize, rice, dryland cereals, and grain legumes) have already adopted the approach and have incorporated fodder value as high-priority traits in these crops.
Read more about the context for this livestock feeds learning event at Agriculture Day at Rio+20 on this ILRI News Blog:
The Road Back to Rio: 'LivestockPLUS Learning Event' shows how better feed reduces poverty AND livestock 'hoofprints', 18 Jun 2012.
Follow the presentations and discussions of this learning event on Twitter as @agricultureday and check updates via the Twitter-tags #RioPlus20 and #Rio4Ag and the Facebook page for ARDD. You can also follow CGIAR at Rio on this landing page on the CGIAR Consortium website.
Read more about ILRI's crop residue research:
Dual-purpose groundnut, pigeonpea, millet and sorghum raise milk yields in dairy-intensive India, 8 Apr 2012.
Food-feed crops research: A synthesis, 17 Jan 2011.
Posted in Animal Feeding, Climate Change, Crop Residues, Crop-Livestock, Feeds, Fodder, Forages, ILRI, India, Intensification, PA, PLE, Presentation, Spotlight, Tanzania	| Tagged 2012ARDD, Carlos Sere, CGIAR, CIAT, ICARDA, Rio4Ag, RioPlus20	| Leave a reply
The road back to Rio: 'LivestockPLUS Learning Event' shows how better feed reduces poverty AND livestock 'hoofprints'
Cattle graze on Colombia's eastern plains, or Llanos (photo on Flickr by CIAT/Neil Palmer).
Several hundred people in Rio de Janeiro today will be discussing and debating a topic not often included in high-profile meetings. The topic is how we can use improved livestock feed to reduce both poverty and climate change.
The discussions today will take place at one of 13 'learning events' that are part of an Agriculture and Rural Development Day at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Staff from CGIAR Centres are helping to organize and are participating in events throughout this day.
Given that the key messages of this particular learning event run counter to much current thinking about livestock, the participants will share and discuss scientific evidence that demonstrates the benefits of improved feeding practices, particularly their potential for contributing significantly to climate change mitigation while improving livestock production.
On the table today are both fodders, coarse foods composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of cereal crops, and bulky grass or hay forages. The learning event, titled 'LivestockPlus—How can sustainable intensification of livestock production through improved feeding practices help realize both livelihood as well as environmental benefits?', will deliver the following three fundamental messages.
New feeding practices can increase livestock production while decreasing its ecological 'hoofprint'
New livestock feeding practices, like the use of improved dual-purpose crops and high-quality forages, offer significant potential for sustainable intensification of agricultural production to enhance livelihoods while also reducing livestock's ecological 'hoofprint'.
Improved forages, like forests, will capture carbon
Improved tropical forages offer the further advantage of sequestering large amounts of carbon—on a scale similar to that of forests—with the possibility of reducing emissions of nitrous oxide and methane per unit of livestock product. There is evidence that the potential of sown forages to sequester carbon (assuming good pasture and livestock management) is second only to that of forests and that sown forages could realize 60–80% of agriculture's total potential to mitigate climate change.
Better feeding practices will allow mixed crop-livestock farmers to produce more food more sustainably
If widely applied by the vast army of 'mixed' smallholder farmers, who raise livestock as well as grow crops, and who are the mainstay of global food security, improved livestock feeding practices could deliver huge increases in food production at reduced environmental cost against a background of rising livestock production and consumption in the developing world.
The result of numerous global initiatives and extensive testing, this work offers practical examples of how improved feeds can raise the production and incomes of smallholder farmers. Superior forage grasses widely adopted in Latin America, for example, already generate up to USD4 billion in Brazil alone. And improved tropical forages have also been adopted widely in Southeast Asia since the start of their promotion in 1995. A recent review indicates that continued adoption of improved feeds, including sown forages, could significantly reduce greenhouse gases on a global scale, while enhancing the livelihoods of the one billion people dependent on livestock-cropping systems.
What remains to be done
To scale up these improved feed resources so that they contribute to a transformed food system, we need more precsie understanding of the impacts of livestock on climate change, with the impacts differentiated by specific livestock-cropping systems, as well as of the potential for improved feeding practices to mitigate climate change. To make livestock and crop production in the tropics more climate friendly through improved feeding practices, smallholders must be given stronger incentives to market their livestock products and to sequester carbon through improved land management. Smallholders might be encouraged to adopt sown (and carbon-storing) forages, for example, through schemes instituted to pay them for the environmental services they provide.
What could be achieved
With donor support for research to obtain conclusive data and to provide policymakers with support for their decision-making, a functional system for implementing the LivestockPlus concept and associated strategies could be available within the next 5–6 years.
The program for this learning event
The program for this learning event includes a keynote presentation on the role of forages and livestock production in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by CIAT soil scientist and agroecologist Aracely Castro; this keynote will be followed by three short case-study introductions on the following topics.
Carbon sequestration in livestock production for climate change mitigation: Implications for policy development in Brazil, presented by Embrapa beef cattle researcher Davi José Bungenstab.
Livestock production and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia: Technical innovation for environmental and livelihood benefits, presented by Carlos Seré, former director general of ILRI and now chief strategist for IFAD (note: Seré is speaking on behalf of ILRI animal nutritionist Michael Blümmel).
Climate-smart silvopastoral systems for a green livestock economy, presented by CATIE director Muhammad Ibrahim.
These case study presentations will be followed by parallel group discussions on each of the three cases to answer such questions as:
What are the main research findings that support the technological or policy innovation, including evidence of livelihood and environmental benefits?
What were key lessons learned from the research leading to this innovation?
What are the requirements for scaling it up?
The session will close with a moderated panel discussion in plenary with the keynote speaker and case study presenters.
Institutions involved
CATIE is a regional centre of excellence based in Costa Rica that works on solutions for the environment and development in rural communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
CIAT, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, based in Colombia, works to increase the eco-efficiency of agriculture to reduce hunger and poverty and to improve human health in the tropics.
EMBRAPA is the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, which works for the sustainable development of Brazilian agribusiness.
ILRI, the International Livestock Research Institute, based in Africa, works to reduce hunger, poverty, ill health and environmental degradation through enhanced livestock systems for poor people in the developing world.
Presenters at the event
This learning event will be chaired by Elcio Guimarães, who is director of research for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Discussions at the session will be summarized by Nathan Russell, a key organizer of this session who leads corporate communications work at CIAT. One of the three scheduled case study speakers, Michael Blümmel of ILRI, is unable to attend; his presentation will be made by Carlos Seré, former director general of ILRI and now chief strategist for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Follow the event on the web
Today, 18 Jun 2012, proceedings of the Agriculture and Rural Development Day will be webcast live (the event takes place from 11.30–13.00 Rio time), and you can ask questions and interact with the organizers via Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the presentations and discussions of this learning event on Twitter as @agricultureday and check updates via the Twitter-tags #RioPlus20 and #Rio4Ag and the Facebook page for ARDD. You can also follow CGIAR at Rio on this landing page on the CGIAR Consortium website.
Posted in Agriculture, Animal Feeding, Climate Change, Crop Residues, Environment, Event, Feeds, Fodder, Forages, ILRI, Intensification, PLE	| Tagged 2012ARDD, Carlos Sere, CATIE, CGIAR, CIAT, EMBRAPA, Nathan Russell, Rio4Ag, RioPlus20	| Leave a reply


Classic Pyramid Solitaire game with freecells: Add up two cards to a total value of 13 to remove the cards. A King (K) is 13 points and can be removed as a single card, a Queen (Q) is 12 points, a Jack (J) is 11 points and an Ace (A) is worth 1 point. Use the freecells (top) wisely. Every new level is more difficult because it has once freecell less.
It's winter in this Solitaire game, create stacks on the 4 foundations from Ace to King. You can move cards on the tableau by placing those cards onto other cards if they are 1 higher in value and of alternating color: so for example place a red 9 on a black 10. You can also move groups of cards.
Twice the number of cards, double the Fun! All cards from 2 decks are dealt into 10 tableau piles. There are 6 Free Cells (top left) and 4 Foundation piles (top right). The object of the game is to build up all cards on the foundations by suit from Ace to King, wrapping to Ace and then to King again. Top cards of tableau piles and cards from the Free Cells are available for play. You can build tableau piles down bij alternate color. Only one card at a time can be moved (but you can move groups of cards in the proper sequence if you have enough Free Cells and/or empty tableau piles). The top card of any tableau pile can also be moved to any Free Cell. Each Free Ceel may contain only 1 card. Cards in the Free Cells may be moved to the foundation piles or back to the tableau piles, if possible.


Discussion in 'The Sound Hound Lounge' started by Samsun19, May 3, 2016.
I'm a music teacher, here Los Angeles.... And I also Direct Performance Workshops, for musicians. They are just like an acting class, but adjusted for music performance.
I'm doing the next workshop, Saturday... March 19th, in West LA at 5:45 PM.
All levels are welcome, beginners > pros.
To participate, you have to have a song, or music memorized.
At the workshop you'll be introduced, and guided thru a skill set that will elevate your performance skills, and make performing more fun.
If you feel nervous, anxious, or out of place, and just not at home on stage.... Or even when performing for friends and family... This workshop will help.
If your a pro, and you want to take it to the next level, the workshop is perfect fit.
Come join a great group of like minded musicians/singers, have a blast, learn a ton, and make some new friends in the process.


text:
Gallaudet Women on the Road to Winners' Circle
Lydia Lumcmaadmin (EDU)
Gallaudet University senior Easter Faafiti hits the basketball court with teammates this weekend in hopes of not only winning the North Eastern Athletic Conference title but also extending a playing season that already has changed the minds of much of the hearing public.
"Just because I can't hear doesn't mean I'm not as athletically talented as somebody else," says Faafiti, who shifts seamlessly from center to forward to guard. "I hope all people would be open to anybody who has a disability."
Indeed, this team of deaf and hard of hearing women boasts an overall 23-2 record-including a 20-game winning streak to start the season. They're hosting the NEAC tournament as its top seed. Faafiti has been named NEAC Student-Athlete of the Week a record five times this season, including this week.
Adds coach Kevin Cook, who does hear and learned American Sign Language once he took the job four years ago: "Because of us, there's a growing awareness that there are differences between deaf people and hearing people, but we're all the same."
Yet whenever the Bison compete on the road, fans of opposing teams are befuddled by the fact that Gallaudet players cannot hear referee whistles nor Cook yelling from the sidelines. In-game communication consists largely of Cook signing, with his assistants and bench players immediately repeating the signs to ensure that every team member on the court sees them from wherever they are. Cook estimates the delay costs the Bison about six points per game. Furthermore, opposing teams can eventually figure out what plays he's calling based on the signs.
All this, Cook shrugs off, just as he doesn't let his Parkinson's disease get the better of him. "They still have to stop us on the court."
So far this season, most teams have not. Two wins this weekend would not only capture the NEAC championship, Cook says, but ought to land the Bison a berth in the 64-team NCAA Tournament and March Madness.
Gallaudet's current success is the latest since Cook, who helped guide the Houston Comets to four WNBA championships as an assistant coach, took over a program that had fallen on hard times. The Bison mustered only three victories his first year. They lost one game by 75 points. Last season though, they finished with a 14-12 record, their best in a decade. Nonetheless, the Bison have certainly tasted the national spotlight before; the team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen rung of the national tournament in 1999.
Cook credits this season's winning ways to the women not only improving their ball-handling but getting used to keeping their emotions in check when referee calls go against them. "We haven't had a technical foul called against us all season," he says with the pride of a parent. When he became coach in 2007, frustrated players often rammed their fists on the scorer's table or threw away the ball in anger.
Not only does Faafiti shine in the paint, but she and Nukeitra Hayes, also a senior in her final year of eligibility, help him police the team during those rare times when bickering breaks out. "They'll sign to each other, 'Coach already told everyone the rules,' " Cook says.
Faafiti is averaging 21.3 points per game this season, along with 13.4 rebounds and 4 steals. At Sunday's regular season finale at home, she scored her 1,000th career point in a Bison uniform-despite it being only her second year at Gallaudet. She transferred from mainstream Pasadena City College.
Her mother initially worried about her moving so far from her hometown of Pittsburg, Calif., but now "she's proud of me, and we agree I made the right choice," Faafiti says. "At Gallaudet, I can communicate more freely."


I'm sorry to hear that Mark, friends like that are difficult to lose. My wife and I lost our pup, she was 15, 2 years ago and we still miss her.
Very sorry to hear about Nutmeg. I've had several dogs, and losing them is always tough. Sounds like there were a lot of amazing times with your pup; hope that the memories are some comfort at this point.
I hope you can take solace in the fact his suffering is over, and joy in the time you shared together.
My sympathies, Mark. I come from a family of big-time dog people, and I know how much this hurts.
Sorry to hear that man. I had to put my 12 year old Lab down in October. Was one of the hardest things I've been through. It does get better. We've got an other dog but he's getting old too. Probably going to get one soon to keep him company but its been a tougher decision than we thought.
Sincere condolences to you and you wife, Mark.
From a stranger who just found your neat blog today – I am sorry for your loss. Best wishes to you and your family.
I'm so sorry to read about your dog. I'm a dog lover myself, something I discovered very late in life. Having lost one myself I know how painful it can be. My sympathies are with you and your family.
Losing a loyal dog . . . one you know so well, and that knows you . . . man, that's hard. I'm sorry.
I've lurked for a long time, but I signed up for TypePad just so I could type what I just typed to you. Thanks, Nutmeg.
It's poignant and very sad, I know.
Hugs and sympathy, man. I just got my first dog last fall and I can't imagine how hard it will be when I lose him. These little dudes are family. I'm sorry for your loss.
So sorry for your loss, Mark.
Like another person above, I just had to open an account so I could comment. I really enjoy your blog, and my heart goes out to you for your loss. I know how much I love my dogs, and also know what it's like to lose them. I think it is particularly hard becuase their love is so absolutely pure and unconditional.
Hang in there – hopefully the pain will fade and you will open your heart to a new friend soon.
Long time reader – just registered.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I've been through your situation 15 years ago, with a wonderful cat dying of FIV.
You will get through this. It gets better, but it will take a while.
Mark, so sorry to hear about your loss of a member of your pack.
What a beautiful dog (with a beautiful name to go with that beautiful nutmeg coat). So sorry for your loss.


There are multiple holes in a new proposed class action complaint filed vs Mondelez over sugar levels in its belVita range, say attorneys. However, the recent shift away from fat to sugar as public enemy #1 has clearly emboldened the plaintiff's bar.
In a lawsuit* - filed in the southern district of California by the same team of attorneys that has sued Kellogg, Post, and General Mills over sugar levels in their breakfast cereals – plaintiffs Patrick McMorrow and Marco Ohlin accuse Mondelez of targeting belVita products towards consumers interested in health and nutrition when they are in fact high in sugar – excessive amounts of which, they claim, are linked to everything from heart disease and type 2 diabetes, to cancers, cognitive decline and liver disease.
There is no specific regulation that disqualifies firms from implying or stating a product that products are healthy or nutritious based on sugar content (conditions of use for the nutrient content claim 'healthy' focus on fat and sodium and don't mention sugar, while 'nutritious' is not defined in law).
However, the plaintiffs argue that federal regulations enshrined in California state law require that labels are not "false or misleading," and allege violations of California's false advertising and unfair competition laws, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
While Mondelez does not describe the biscuits as 'healthy' 'low sugar' or good for you on the label, the products are "designed to appeal to health-conscious consumers," says the complaint.
So how much sugar is in belVita products, and is it accurate to describe them – as the plaintiffs do – as 'high-sugar'?
The products at issue contain 8-14g added sugar per serving, which is between 32% and 56% of the daily added sugar maximum level recommended by the American Heart Association for women, and between 21% and 37% of the maximum level recommended for men (the AHA recommends that added sugars account for a maximum of 5% of energy intake, although this figure has not been adopted in the US dietary guidelines).
To put this in perspective, however, many other breakfast products contain more sugar. Yogurts, for example, typically contain 12-18g sugar per serving, while a small [8oz] glass of Tropicana Original 100% orange juice has 22g sugar.
In the cereal aisle, meanwhile, Raisin Bran Crunch contains 19g of sugar per 53g serving, and Honey Nut Cheerios - the best-selling cereal in the US - contain 9g of sugar per 28g serving.
The FDA, meanwhile, does not define 'high' or 'low' sugar, and only sets conditions of use for 'reduced/less/lower sugar' claims, which belVita is not making.
So what do attorneys make of the case?
Keri Borders, a partner at law firm Mayer Brown told FoodNavigator-USA that sugar is a hot area for litigation right now, even though the sugar levels in the products cited in the lawsuit are lower than those in many other products that people might consume for breakfast.
In this case, while there are no hard claims on pack, the belVita packaging does describe the products as 'nutritious,' an ill-defined term that plaintiff's attorneys see as a code-word for healthy and fertile ground for false advertising lawsuits, she added.
Mondelez did not respond to requests for comment.
However, in motions to dismiss similar lawsuits filed by the same attorneys in 2016, defendants Kellogg, Post and General Mills said their labels complied with both the letter and the spirit of the law, and noted that there is no federal regulation that disqualifies firms from describing a product as 'healthy,' or 'nutritious' based on its sugar content.
*The case is: Patrick McMorrow and Marco Ohlin et al v Mondelez International, 3:17-cv-02327 filed on November 16, 2017 in the southern district of California, by the law offices of Jack Fitzgerald PC and Paul K Joseph PC.


A born goal scorer. An ambidextrous player that felt at home in the penalty area, he had a potent shot with either feet, and was a spectacular header of the ball. He was one of the most outstanding goal scorers of his era. Throughout his career he was La Liga's top scorer twice, once while playing with Real Madrid. He was the second player at the club to win such an award. He was frightening in the penalty area, brave and combative.
He began his sporting career at Arenas de Alcabre, from which he moved on to Juventudes de Vigo. At the age of 19 he signed with Celta Vigo. Five years later he moved to Real Madrid. He was La Liga's leading scorer in the 1951/52 season with 28 goals. Collectively his greatest achievement was the Small World Cup, won in Caracas against Botafogo, Millonarios and Lasalle.
When he left Madrid one of his dreams was left unrealised: playing with Alfredo Di Stéfano, who signed a few months later and who would wear Madrid's number 'nine' shirt left vacant by the Galician. Alfredo himself also admitted a small frustration: "It was a shame not to be able to play with Pahíño, because together we would have scored a heap of goals". Died on 12 June 2012.


Grammar In Use is my standard grammar reference text for all upper-intermediate to advanced ESL groups working to learn English for general purposes. I ask practically all my private students at these levels to buy this book, or I buy it for them. The majority find that it is the best investment in their English language learning they have ever made.... Grammar In Use is my standard grammar reference text for all upper-intermediate to advanced ESL groups working to learn English for general purposes. I ask practically all my private students at these levels to buy this book, or I buy it for them. The majority find that it is the best investment in their English language learning they have ever made.
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The world's best-selling grammar series for learners of English. Grammar in Use Intermediate with Answers and Interactive eBook, authored by Raymond Murphy, is the first choice for intermediate (B1-B2) learners of American English and covers all the grammar required at this level.


Prayer must never become an unusual noise in our lives. We pray to God through Jesus Christ. We can ask Him for anything but we must not pray for selfish things or make requests which we know are against His will. We may ask Him for both spiritual and physical concerns but we should focus primarily on the spiritual needs.


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Subject > Weapons, Equipment and Fortifications > Equipment, Materials and Infrastructure
York Redoubt - History
In 1793, at the outbreak of war between Britain and revolutionary France, harbour batteries were hastily erected to secure Halifax from attack by sea. In the 19th century York Redoubt and the Citadel used signal flags to keep each other informed of ships' movements. During the First World War, the site was used as barracks for assigned infantry and for troops waiting to go overseas. Early in the Second World War, the Redoubt was the nerve centre for harbour defences, and included an anti-submarine net. York Redoubt remained in military use until 1956.
Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site of Canada: A Multi-Purpose Structure
The site at Coteau-du-Lac represented a major point of transit for British military logistics efforts. Between 1781 and 1814, the army developed large-scale infrastructures on the site, which testify to the importance the colonial authorities attached to improving and protecting transportation and communications along the route linking Montréal and Kingston.
British army barracks during the 18th and 19th centuries were laid out like crowded dormitories. Each room housed a company (50-100 men) plus any wives. Beds or bunks ran along the sides, with tables and benches down the centre. In Canada, a cast-iron stove heated the room.
'Cat of nine tails' whip
The 'cat of nine tails' was a whip used to flog soldiers. This one was used in the British 83rd Regiment of Foot. The length of the wooden stick was 43cm (1' 5"), its tails 53cm (1' 9"), and it weighed 141,75 g. (5 ounces). (Library of the Canadian Department of National Defence)
The French Revolution
With war going on in Europe, Quebec was divided into two colonies in 1791. Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) and Lower Canada (present-day Quebec), each had its own elected assembly. A regular colonial corps, the Queen's Rangers, was raised for duty in Upper Canada.
Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site of Canada: The First Lock Canal in North America
The construction of the canal at Coteau-du-Lac began in 1779 under the command of William Twiss.
Saint-Louis Forts and Châteaux National Historic Site of Canada: Location and Recognition- Background; Timeline
Founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City was the capital of the French colony until 1759, when British troops conquered it. The city and the colony were brought into the British empire in 1763 by the treatise of Paris. Canada and the city of Quebec remained an English colony until the confederation of Canada in 1867
The British garrison in Canada lived almost exclusively in barracks during the 18th and 19th centuries, unlike troops during the earlier French regime. This made British troops a somewhat isolated society within the colony as a whole. The authorities felt that this improved discipline.
Prince of Wales Tower - History
Prince of Wales Tower was constructed in 1796 to defend the two batteries of Point Pleasant Park from invasion through Halifax Harbour.
British troops crossing the Atlantic during the 18th and 19th centuries were never comfortable. Transports were very crowded, with men sleeping 4 to a bunk. If bad weather prevented exercise on deck, epidemics were a real possibility. By sail, the trip took 2 or 3 months.
Equipment, Materials and Infrastructure
Design and Engineering (3)
Logistics and Support (3)
Military Installations (6)


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November Birthstone Citrine • Christie's Online Summer Jewelry Auction Totals $5.1M
November 2021, Newsflash
Citrine coming from the French word citron means lemon. Citrine carries the power of the sun. It is a gemstone that is warm and comforting, energizing, and life-giving. Citrine assists in all fast money ventures and is especially helpful in financial speculation and for commercial success. It is said that carrying one in the purse or wallet to attract money and stop excessive outflow. Many believe that he gift of a Citrine angel or sphere to a newborn brings intelligence, health, happiness, curiosity, confidence, and healing wisdom.
Citrine crystals push us to look to the future and imagine all that could be, instead of being stuck in the past looking at all that has been.
Jewelry Auction News – National Jeweler Magazine
Christie's Online Summer Jewelry
Auction Totals $5.1M
The star of the sale, a 24-carat heart-shaped diamond, went for $2 million.
This 24.45-carat D-color, internally flawless heart-shaped diamond sold for $2 million in the "Jewels Online: Summer Sparkle" auction, making it the sale's top lot and the second most valuable jewel Christie's has ever sold online.
New York—The second edition of Christie's "Jewels Online: Summer Sparkle" sale brought in $5.1 million for the auction house this year. The online-only auction was held from Aug. 4-18, selling 94 percent by lot and attracting bids from buyers in 28 countries, 16 percent of which were first-time registrants. Leading the way was a 24.45-carat D-color, internally flawless, Type IIa heart-shaped diamond pendant that garnered $2 million, the second-highest price paid for a jewel sold in an online auction at Christie's.
The diamond had a pre-sale estimate of $1.6 million-$2.6 million.
The Summer Sunrise," a 9.83-carat VS1 fancy vivid orange-yellow diamond ring, sold for $810,000 at Christie's recent online-only jewelry auction.
"The Summer Sunrise" was the sale's second-highest-grossing lot. The 9.83-carat, VS1 fancy vivid orange-yellow diamond ring sold for $810,000, followed by a 10.08-carat emerald-cut diamond ring with tapered baguette-cut diamond accents in platinum and white gold that went for $325,000. At No. 4 was a pair of earrings set with pear brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 5.05 carats and 5.01 carats in platinum that sold for $250,000. Rounding out the top five was the 6.29-carat oval diamond, triangular-cut diamond, and platinum ring seen below, which sold for $237,500.
This 6.29-carat oval diamond ring sold for $237,500.
Christie's online jewelry auction also featured a range of fancy color diamonds in various settings, including a fancy orangey-pink diamond ring that sold for $43,750 and a fancy intense pink diamond ring that realized $40,000.
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Their safety and effectiveness is not proven.
The FDA has concerns and is classifiying them as a drug delivery device requiring regulation.
E-cigarettes contain carcinogens and diethylene glycol.
They are not an effective cessation device.
They are not endorsed by DoD, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the US Public Health Service.
Although not proven to be safer, because the research has not been done, it is likely that they are considerably less harmful than cigarettes. Why; because e-cigarettes don't burn tobacco which is the major cause of most harmful constituents in tobacco. Finding some carcinogens is also not a surprise, look hard enough and you'll find them almost anywhere. The real point is what was the dosage and how does it compare to cigarettes? It is likely to be substantially less than cigarettes a point not generally shared with the public. Why not? Because rather than migrate to something less harmful (like e-cigarettes) most public health community advisors would prefer you to quit. Period.
Almost any non-combustible tobacco product is less harmful than cigarettes. This includes products like snus, moist snuff and other oral tobacco products.
E-cigarettes are a non-combustible product. They don't burn tobacco as a result they are likely to be considerably less harmful than cigarettes (albeit unproven.) They can be bought with a variety of nicotine levels and even without nicotine or tobacco!
They provde a similar sensory reward to smoking a real cigarette – there is almost no tar, only a smoke vapor and little or no sidstream smoke – to annoy / pollute your colleagues.
Big-Pharma is conerned. E-cigarettes have the potential to take market-share of their lucrative NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) market. This is highly profitable and generally does little to help smokers quit so you keep buying these relatively costly products for quite a while. Some members of FDA's scientific advisory committe (TPSAC) are accused of favoring Big-Pharma as some of its most anti-tobacco panel members are, or have been, Big-Pharma paid consultants. More on this at another time….
A few corrections… diethylene glycol was found in 1 pre-filled cartridge. They tested 18, and found trace amts in 1(One). After researching, I'm fairly certain the reading came from user error, namely melting the cartridge itself. And yeah, plastic contains diethylene glycol.
This diethylene glycol/"anti-freeze" scare can be directly linked to the FDA's press release. Reading their own study wouldn't lead you to say "e-cigs contain diethylene glycol", because it just isn't true.
Also, if you read the FDA's actual report, as opposed to their press release, you can see where they were compared to NRTs. The carcinogens were lower than or equal to NRTs that are currently approved; and WAY lower than conventional cigs.
There is no tar, & there is no side-stream smoke at all, mostly because there is NO SMOKE! Can't have side-stream smoke without the smoke part. E-cigs produce vapor; or steam. There is zero combustion with e-cigs, therefore there is no smoke.
Your last paragraph touches on a very real truth. It's no conspiracy theory; the facts are readily available for those that care to do some research. I know of no other product/service/medication that not only has an abysmal 5-10% success rate, but also has the full backing of the US government! I look forward to your "More on this at another time…. ".
And none of this addresses a very simple fact… there is a difference between "smoking cessation" & "nicotine cessation". I have no desire to quit nicotine… I like it. Much like I enjoy coffee. But smoking was killing me. It's the act of combustion that creates the 4000+chemicals with conventional cigs.
In order to understand the difference between the 2, a major paradigm shift is needed. Just because it looks like smoke, doesn't mean it is.
Please remember folks… It's not smoke, it's vapor.
***Disclaimer – I am an e-cig user. I switched almost a year ago from 2.5-3pks of cigs a day. I receive no compensation of any kind from any e-cig company or affiliate. This has all been my personal opinion.
I meant to add… thank you for writing this article. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts on the subject.
E-cigarettes are far less hazardous than cigarettes because they emit no smoke. After being on the international market for six years and the US market for four years, there have been no reported health problems due to e-cigarette usage.
E-cigarettes also appear to significantly more effective for smoking cessation than NRT products, but nobody has yet conducted an expensive clinical trial on them (which is the only evidence that FDA's drug office considers valid).
But since the vast majority of e-cigarette companies are not marketing them as smoking cessation products (but rather as cigarette substitutes), the FDA has exceeded its legal authority to classify e-cigarettes as drug devices.
Federal Judge Richard Leon agrees, and the DC Court of Appeals is likely to agree as well.
Are you prepared to state for the record that you have no finaincial, business, equity stake, either for yourself or via a family member, in any e-cigarette product?
This board has a right to know and you will not be deemed a credible source on this subject until you state your status for the record.
The filing makes no mention of the fact that Bill Godshall will not deny his involvement with any Ecig product, company, or entity affiliated.


Eight organisations representing renewable energy in Ireland united today to call on Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten TD to set a target to supply 70 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2030.
In June 2018 the European Union agreed that 32 per cent of the EU's energy – across electricity, heat and transport – will come from renewables by 2030. Ireland's share of that target will be negotiated with the EU in the coming months.
A comprehensive report from leading energy and utilities experts Baringa may be downloaded here. It says it is technically possible and cost neutral to the consumer for Ireland to use renewable energy to supply 70 per cent of our electricity by 2030, which would go a long way towards reaching the EU target. A summary of the report can be found here.
It follows confirmation from the Climate Change Advisory Council in July that Ireland will miss its overall 2020 target for renewable energy, warnings from the Environmental Protection Agency highlighting the failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and comes as the International Panel on Climate Change meets in Korea.
In September the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action began meeting to respond to the calls from the Citizens' Assembly earlier this year for Ireland to become a leader in tackling climate change. Currently, approximately 30 per cent of Irish electricity comes from renewables and while Ireland will fall short of its overall 2020 target it is expected to still reach its 40 per cent electricity target.
In June 2018 the EU agreed to increase the share of renewables in energy to 32 per cent by 2030 and in December the Irish Government will publish its draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). This plan will set out Ireland's 2030 renewable energy target and likely will, like the 2020 target, be broken down across the electricity, heat and transport sectors. It is expected that Ireland will be one of two EU countries to miss our 2020 target of 16 per cent renewable energy although our target of 40 per cent renewable electricity is still achievable.
A copy of the Baringa study is available here.
A summary of the report can be found here.
A leading company that provides renewable energy advice has released its latest policy document which outlines areas for improvement for the north's renewable landscape. 'Proposal for a renewable future' produced by Action Renewables, focuses on issues such as energy efficiency, green gas, renewable transport, security of supply, renewable heat and job security. Each focus comes with recommendation's which are aimed at encouraging debate within the sector and driving forward the development of new policies and goals.
The document emphasizes the growing threat to the renewables industry in the north highlighting the potential loss of more than 3,000 jobs in the sector due to a 'lack of clear policy and withdrawal of incentives'. According to the report one-third of total energy consumption in the north occurs through the transport sector with 94 per cent of this associated with petrol and diesel in road vehicles. The document also draws upon the possibility of imported fossil fuel prices rising post-Brexit and suggests generating renewable energy from local sources.
Action Renewables announced the launch of its most recent policy document at the European Energy Policy Forum which had over 100 delegates in attendance. Topics covered at the event included renewable energy opportunities for SME's, hydropower energy recovery technology, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Michael Doran, managing director at Action Renewables said: "The large turnout for our first European Energy Policy Forum highlights the appetite in Northern Ireland to continue to develop and implement renewable energy technologies to help reach our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets. Developed in 2010 with a ten-year implementation plan and 2020 targets for heat and electricity, the Strategic Energy Framework's deadlines are looming, and with the current policy vacuum in place within our government, Action Renewables has produced our most recent policy document to encourage conversation and continued growth within the sector to meet these targets and improve the long-term forecast for renewable energy in Northern Ireland.
The Conference aims to showcase policy in 7 EU Renewable Energy Projects in Northern Ireland with a particular focus on the GREBE EU Project.
Guest speakers will demonstrate the most recent developments in Renewable Energy Technologies.
An outline on how the GREBE project has identified elements of good policy which could be applied to Northern Ireland.
Pauline Leonard, Western Development Commission Lead Partner, will disseminate the overall results and impact of the GREBE EU Programme across the region.
Roisin Deery, Action Renewables will present GREBE Policy findings across the regions.
Una Porteous, Fermanagh & Omagh District Council will provide an overview on the success of the SME mentoring scheme throughout all the partners regions in ROI, NI, Scotland, Finland and Iceland.
The second part of the Conference will showcase other EU Renewable Energy Projects currently running in Northern Ireland: RECENT, SEAFUEL, REDAWN, SPIRE2, GENCOMM and Renewable Engine.
The Strategy sets a new objective for at least 50% of all Scotland's heat, transport and electricity consumption to be supplied from renewable sources by 2030. Another target set by the Scottish government is a 30% increase in energy productivity across the economy. To drive advancement towards the new targets, the Scottish government promised £80m fresh investment in the energy sector – £60m for low-carbon innovation and £20m for energy investment, coupled with, a confirmation for a publicly owned energy company.


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Trump: Hackers 'Probably Have' Clinton's Deleted Emails; 'I'd Love to See Them'
By Susan Jones | July 28, 2016 | 9:20am EDT
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump National Doral, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
(CNSNews.com) - "It's just a total deflection, this whole thing with Russia," Donald Trump told a news conference on Wednesday.
"In fact, I saw her (Hillary Clinton's) campaign manager -- I don't know his title, Mook. I saw him on television and they asked him about Russia and the (DNC) hacking. By the way, they hacked -- they probably have her 33,000 e-mails. I hope they do. They probably have her 33,000 e-mails that she lost and deleted because you'd see some beauties there."
Trump repeated several times that it may not be Russia who hacked the DNC: "Nobody even knows this, it's probably China, or it could be somebody sitting in his bed. But it shows how weak we are, it shows how disrespected we are."
After telling the news conference that Russia -- or somebody -- probably already has Hillary Clinton's deleted emails, a reporter later returned to the subject, asking Trump why he doesn't tell Russian President Vladimir Puting to stop interfering with the U.S. presidential campaign.
"I have nothing to do with Putin. I've never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him other than he will respect me. He doesn't respect our president.
"And if it is Russia -- which it's probably not, nobody knows who it is -- but if it is Russia, it's really bad for a different reason, because it shows how little respect they have for our country, when they would hack into a major party and get everything.
"But it would be interesting to see -- I will tell you this. Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. Let's see if that happens. That'll be next."
A short time later, Trump repeated that nobody knows if the Russians were the ones who hacked into the DNC: "You know (what) the sad thing is? That with the technology and the genius we have in this country, not in government unfortunately, but with the genius we have in government, we don't even know who took the Democratic National Committee e-mails. We don't even know who it is."
Trump also said it's not about the hackers anyway: "It was about the things that were said in those emails. They were terrible things, talking about Jewish, talking about race, talking about atheist, trying to pin labels on people -- what was said was a disgrace, and it was Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and believe me, as sure as you're sitting there, Hillary Clinton knew about it. She knew everything."
NBC's Katie Tur asked Trump if he should be "asking a foreign government -- Russia, China, anybody -- to interfere, to hack into the system of anybody in this country..."
"Well, they probably have them," Trump replied, referring to Clinton's emails. "I'd like to have them released."
"Does that not give you pause?" Tur asked again.
"No, it gives me no pause," Trump responded. "If they have them, they have them. We might as well -- hey, you know what gives me more pause? That a person in our government, crooked Hillary Clinton -- here's what gives me pause. Be quiet. I know you want to save her (Clinton)," he told Tur.
"That a person in our government, Katy, would delete or get rid of 33,000 emails. That gives me a big problem. After she gets a subpoena! She gets subpoenaed, and she gets rid of 33,000 e-mails? That gives me a problem. Now, if Russia or China or any other country has those e-mails, I mean, to be honest with you, I'd love to see them."
The Clinton campaign called Trump's comments the "first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against a political opponent."
Speaking at the Democrat National Convention Wednesday night, former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Trump was "asking a U.S. adversary to engage in hacking or intelligence efforts against the United States of America to affect an election."
Hillary Clinton has said that her use of a private email server to conduct government business was a mistake. FBI Director James Comey saidalthough the FBI did not find "clear evidence" that Clinton and her colleagues intended to violate the law, "there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."
Comey also noted that even if sensitive information was not marked as classified at the time an email was sent, Clinton or "any reasonable person...should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation."