text:
Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee; Report
All Senate debates on 6 Mar 2014	« Previous debate	Next debate »
Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I present the report on a claim of public interest immunity raised over documents, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.
Ordered that the report be printed.
That the Senate take note of the report.
I am very happy to table this report. As Chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, I rise to speak about this inquiry into a claim of public interest immunity raised over documents. This has been an important inquiry as it goes to the heart of the relationship between the parliament and the executive. It goes to the heart of the capacity of the parliament, in this case the Senate, to obtain information and documents about actions being taken by the executive that are of concern to the very public which elected us to represent them.
In order to provide some context to this issue, I will go to the words of the Clerk of the Senate, Dr Laing, in giving evidence before the committee on the background to a resolution of the Senate made on 13 May 2009 about the process that is to be followed when a claim of public interest immunity is contemplated. Dr Laing pointed out that the important issue is the balance of competing public interest claims—on the one hand, by government, that certain information should not be disclosed because disclosure would harm the public interest in some way; and, on the other hand, by parliament, as a representative body in a democratic polity, to know particular things about government administration so that parliament can perform its proper function of scrutinising and ensuring accountability for expenditure and administration of government programs.
The Senate referred this inquiry to the committee on 10 December 2013. It followed the government's noncompliance with multiple orders from the Senate for the production of documents concerning on-water activities under Operation Sovereign Borders. In refusing to provide the information, the government raised a claim of public interest immunity. This is a claim which has been contested by the Australian Greens as well as opposition senators. In this inquiry, the committee has sought to examine the grounds on which the government's claim of public interest immunity was based as well as the Senate's authority to determine such claims. In this case, it is unfortunate that the committee has not been able to examine the merits of this claim of public interest immunity because of the government's unwillingness to provide further information. The government has merely continued to assert the grounds upon which the claim is made but has not identified any specifics about the documents over which the claim is made.
The committee's ability to examine the merits of the claim has been frustrated because the committee was not provided with the relevant documents, nor the information contained therein, nor even a schedule listing the documents covered by the claim, as explicitly requested of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. In the course of the inquiry, the government was not forthcoming with any information in addition to that which was already tabled in response to the orders for the production of documents—even on an in camera basis or in altered form. Therefore, the committee had no ability to consider the validity of the claims that releasing such information would result in 'possible damage to national security, defence, international relations and possible prejudice to law enforcement or protection of public safety', which are the usual bases for such a public interest immunity claim.
The government's unwillingness to engage in a meaningful way with this inquiry only serves to heighten the committee's suspicions and concerns about the information sought. As a result, the committee has recommended that the Senate consider a range of procedural and political remedies to resolve the current impasse. The committee has recommended that the Senate insist that Senator Cash be required to explain what documents are covered by the claim of public interest immunity and how she reached the decision to make the claim. The committee reminds the executive of the Senate's right to information and that claims of public interest immunity are just that—claims which are for the Senate to accept or reject. Withholding information from the Senate because it is politically embarrassing or of contestable legality does not accord with good governance and prevents the Senate from fulfilling its scrutiny and accountability functions. These are functions which are vitally important for the democratic process. When serious actions are being undertaken in the name of the Australian people, the Australian people have a right to know what they are, why they are being taken and whether they indeed are necessary. This is not a principle which should be abused.
More broadly, the committee found that the Senate's current procedures for obtaining documents subject to a disputed claim of public interest immunity and for resolving these disputed claims are inadequate. By contrast, the committee heard in detail about the procedures of the New South Wales Legislative Council, where an independent arbiter is able to consider and provide advice on disputed claims of public interest immunity. In that case an independent person has the ability to scrutinise the documents and form a view, as opposed to a situation where those who are not willing to have the documents disclosed merely assert that they are subject to public interest immunity.
Therefore the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee has recommended that the Procedure Committee examine this matter in greater detail. Specifically, the Procedure Committee should consider the New South Wales Legislative Council's model of independent arbitration and how such a process might be applied in the Senate so that the Senate does not continue to be frustrated by disputed claims of public interest immunity in the future, thereby frustrating the Senate's ability to carry out one of its most fundamental functions in a democratic society—that is, making sure that there is proper scrutiny and accountability of executive government on behalf of those people who voted us in.
I would like to give my thanks to the committee secretary and the staff of the secretariat for their hard work in conducting the inquiry and providing the reports, and particularly to those witnesses who gave generously of their expertise and time. This was of great assistance to the considerations of the committee. I think particular thanks are due to the Clerk of the Senate, Dr Rosemary Laing, and the Clerk of the New South Wales Legislative Council, Mr David Blunt. I commend the report to the Senate.
Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I would like to put a few things on record in relation to this report. That includes the fact that coalition members did not agree with the majority findings of this committee. I wanted to go through some of the issues that were dealt with, some of the reasons we took a very different approach, some of the hypocrisy of the Labor Party in particular on this issue when it comes to the production of documents and also the recklessness of the attitude of the Greens and the Labor Party in relation to such documents and claims of public interest immunity.
We know the recognised grounds for public interest immunity, and the dissenting report goes to this. It includes a range of things: prejudice to legal proceedings and to law enforcement investigations; damage to commercial interests; invasion of privacy; disclosure of executive council or cabinet deliberations; prejudice to national security or defence; and prejudice to Australia's international relations or relations between the Commonwealth and the states.
We heard a lot of evidence in relation to the government's views on this issue, particularly from people like Lieutenant General Angus Campbell. I wanted to go to some of the evidence that he put to the committee as to why public interest immunity was important in this case. I will come later to some of the claims of public interest immunity that were made by the former government which I would submit to the Senate were of a far less serious nature and could only be characterised in those circumstances as being completely political. This goes to the hypocrisy of the Labor Party on this issue. Lieutenant General Campbell outlined the importance of confidentiality in regards to Operation Sovereign Borders when he said:
These documents may reveal the location, capacity, patrol and tactical routines relevant to Navy and Customs vessels and air assets.
He further outlined:
Such information can undermine our tactical advantage over people smugglers who seek to use this information to avoid or trigger detection or to precipitate a search and rescue response. Information of this type can also undermine our ability to protect illegal maritime arrivals from the practices of people smugglers and other serious criminal activities. Finally, it can undermine more generally the effectiveness of Australian assets to maintain maritime security awareness in the broad sense.
Lieutenant General Campbell also said:
Secondly, the kinds of documents that are sought, from my perspective, may enable an exploitation of confidential methodologies and procedures used by Navy and Customs vessels and assets. Information about the arrival of ventures, including the timing of the arrival and the composition of passengers, can be used by people smugglers—and has been used by people smugglers—to provide proof of arrival and the basis of payment, provide a basis for further positive marketing of their business and undermine communication strategies aimed at potential illegal immigrants.
He made a very compelling case, in my view, about the importance of not releasing these documents.
You can understand that the Greens, who have never been and never will be in government, want this. But it is not clear to me why the Labor Party—who were in government recently and apparently aspire to one day be back in government—would want such information in the public realm. Why would a party aspiring to government even consider having documents such as these, which, Lieutenant General Campbell has made crystal clear, undermine our tactical advantage in dealing with people smugglers and put our personnel at risk, put in the public realm? Lieutenant General Campbell goes on:
Finally, these documents may impact upon Australia's relations with foreign states and damage those relationships, undermining the potential for international agreements and cooperative behaviours and also the working relationships necessary between operational agencies in relation to safety of life at sea or generally on-water cooperative operations.
He makes a very compelling case.
When we think about the disgraceful attacks we have seen from the Labor Party on Lieutenant General Campbell, there are a couple of points that need to be made. Lieutenant General Campbell is doing a fine job in the service of the Australian people in the task that he has been asked to do in stopping the boats. I think the attacks are even more disgraceful because Lieutenant General Campbell has made it very clear—publicly on the record and many times in the committee—that it is critically important to the success of Operation Sovereign Borders that the information flow is controlled and that it is not given to the people smugglers. He has made that clear, he said that is his advice to government and the government has followed that advice.
So, when we see these kind of attacks from the Labor Party on Lieutenant General Campbell, we can only assume that they are suggesting that he is not sincere in that belief. I believe he is sincere in that belief, I believe he has given his best professional advice and I believe that best professional advice has been taken by the minister of the day in implementing this important policy. So all of these claims that somehow Lieutenant General Campbell has just been put in a bad position by the government and is somehow being politicised by the government are wrong. It is the Labor Party that has politicised his position. He is doing a fine job. The important point here is that he has given the advice and he has formed the view. This is what he is told the committee—that he has formed the view that this is critical to the success of Operation Sovereign Borders. I, for one, accept his assertions. I, for one, accept his evidence as being truthful and as being completely valid. That is why the minister has taken that advice and that is why we are seeing success. That is one of the reasons we are seeing success.
When Lieutenant General Campbell has appeared before the committee, he has emphasised many times that this is an important aspect. There are a whole range of aspects in relation to Operation Sovereign Borders and why it is working, but the control of information is a critically important point, and the point was made by Lieutenant General Campbell on a number of occasions. I think he has been subjected to some unfair attacks. We have seen some of the ridiculous questioning from the Greens on these issues, including references to fictional, TV programs, which I think is unbecoming for senators.
We heard from the Clerk of the Senate, and I also thank the Clerk for her contribution to this inquiry. She said:
There are parliamentary mechanisms, however, such as the receipt of evidence in camera or the provision of confidential briefings, which balance the right of the body of elected representatives to know against the public interest in that particular information remaining confidential.
Mr Morrison has provided regular briefings. He has also offered confidential briefings to the Labor Party and the Greens. As I understand it, no member of the Greens has taken up that offer. The shadow spokesman from the Greens has been offered a confidential briefing. If you are generally interested in getting the information, wouldn't that be at least a first step to acquaint yourself with the facts? But the Greens have not bothered. So I can only suggest that this is merely political. They are not really interested in the information; they are more interested in making a big deal of the fact that they cannot get the information—even though they have been offered confidential briefings in relation to it. Minister Morrison has provided regular briefings on a number of aspects of this.
I want to touch on the hypocrisy of the Labor Party on this issue in relation to their performance in government when it comes to public interest immunity claims and failure to provide documents. I asked a question of the Clerk on the claims in relation to the 42nd and 43rd parliaments. In evidence to the committee, the Clerk of the Senate stated that 'it was not uncommon' for ministers to refuse orders for the production of documents and:
It is certainly a fact that there is a degree of noncompliance with orders for production of documents.
I would suggest that that may be an understatement. I also asked a question about how many times in the 42nd Parliament the Labor Party did not comply with orders for the production of documents. In the 42nd Parliament there were 63 orders for the production of documents, 33 of which were not complied with. The orders not complied with included documents on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the NBN, the Oceanic Viking, the Home Insulation Program, the mako shark, the porbeagle shark, grants for sports facilities, chemotherapy treatment and budget cuts. In the 43rd Parliament there were 53 orders for the production of documents, 26 of which were not complied with. There were nine orders relating to the mining tax and three on live cattle exports. There were orders relating to the NBN, the Home Insulation Program—the list goes on and on.
We have a situation where the Greens, who always call for information, have not taken some of the confidential briefings that were offered to them. We have had a compelling case put by the government, and by Lieutenant General Campbell, as to why this would put people at risk and undermine the effectiveness of this policy. I put it again to Labor senators: what do you have to gain by seeing this information in the public realm? Why would you want to arm the people smugglers with this type of information? It is well recognised that this type of information has often had public interest immunity about it. I commend the dissenting report to the Senate. (Time expired)
Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I rise to take note of the report of the inquiry by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee into the claims of public interest immunity made by Ministers Morrison and Cash. Not since the Iraq oil-for-food program inquiry have I been involved in such an extraordinary inquiry where there is nothing but pure front from this government. What a pitiful defence has just been offered. It rests on two parts, the first of which is: 'Have a confidential briefing.' Well, it is the Senate that you are in, and we want the information—it can always be provided in camera if you want the Senate to have it in a confidential way. The second defence is even worse: 'They did it too.' Well, push me! Go on, really! Those are your best two limbs of defence? These claims were made in response to the legitimate orders from this place to produce documents relating to Immigration and Border Protection activities—documents that the government has kept secret, documents that the government has refused to provide, even on a confidential basis, as provided for in our rules and procedures. These are documents which, it was revealed in the inquiry, neither minister had actually read prior to making their claims. That is outrageous in the extreme.
This report is an indictment of those ministers and this government. The fact that we even had to have this inquiry in the first place is a measure of the absolute contempt in which they hold this parliament. It is completely unacceptable for the government to behave in this way. This is backed up by the committee's report. The government's claim of public interest immunity has not been substantiated. There is no evidence on the record that the claim of public interest immunity would succeed. In fact, the report is scathing of the behaviour of the government and Ministers Morrison and Cash. Let me quote directly from the report:
The government's unwillingness to engage in a meaningful way with this inquiry only serves to heighten the committee's suspicion and concerns about the information sought.
And what else does this inquiry find? It finds that the government's secrecy, its lack of transparency and accountability, is so extreme as to require a change in the very procedures of the Senate. That is what the committee concluded—that, when you look at the conduct of these two ministers, you are left in no doubt that we require a change in the way we address this circumstance.
The government has openly flouted the Senate rules and the committee's rightful and legitimate request for information. It denied explicit requests for relevant documents—or even a schedule of those documents—which undermines and frustrates the ability of the committee to examine the merits of the government's claim. Even if you did not want to produce the documents themselves, then you should have produced a schedule of the documents so, at least, the committee could have come to the conclusive view that a proper process was entertained. No such schedule was provided. The only conclusion you can come to is that the government did not go through a proper process. It took the extraordinary step of making a blanket claim and then tried to cover up the fact that that is what it did.
It treated the powers of the Senate, powers bestowed by the Constitution, with shocking disregard. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection had the gall to tell the committee that he would decide the questions that they considered relevant. The minister deciding relevance, instead of the committee—that is completely absurd. You could only describe it as either ignorance or arrogance. I will leave it for those who read the report to come to the conclusion as to whether it is sheer arrogance or ignorance, the assertion was so stunning.
The advice from the Clerk on this matter could not be clearer, saying it was a notion which they should be disabused of as soon as possible. Stonewalling, misleading, evading, obstructing: that is the only behaviour this government has shown itself capable of and, quite frankly, it is not good enough. The Senate should respond to this circumstance.
The report makes a number of key recommendations that Labor supports. It recommends that the Senate:
… insist that the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Senator Cash) be required to explain the process by which—
… considered the documents and reached a decision to claim public interest immunity over them.
Let me dwell on that point, because those opposite should not miss the import of it. The sheer absurdity of this situation for them seems incapable of being grasped. How a minister can claim public interest immunity over a document that they have not actually read is mind-boggling. This is a serious matter, beyond just the matter of the documents in this particular case. At its very heart, at its very core, is this government's culture of secrecy, its lack of accountability, its contempt for this parliament and all that it represents. That is why this committee report also recommends a reform option for the Senate. We asked the Procedure Committee to look at this report and its contents very carefully. And I have full confidence in that committee coming to the same conclusive view that the committee came to, that a change is required here. The blatant attempt not to produce documents needs to be addressed. The sheer hypocrisy of this government in hiding and continuing to display secrecy is shocking. The status quo will not do, not when it comes to this government, which has adopted dissembling as the default policy position.
The report should remain and continue to be a stark reminder to this government that it is not above what the Senate can ask it to do. It is not above the ability of parliamentarians in this place to require the production of documents. But, more than that, if you want to claim public interest immunity on those documents, then demonstrate that you have undertaken a proper process in coming to that conclusive view. Public interest immunity can be claimed, but what this inquiry shows is that this government ignored all the rules. It was flagrant in its breach of them.
As the committee has noted, it is not the place of ministers to determine matters of public interest immunity; it is a matter for the parliament. I quote:
… the committee reiterates in the strongest terms the Senate's right to information and emphasises that a claim of public interest immunity made by a minister remains just that: merely a claim. It is for the Senate to consider and accept or reject each claim having regard to the basis upon which it is made.
It is time that the ministers in this government undertook proper processes. If they are going to claim public interest immunity, then they should do it according to the rules and demonstrate how they are going to undertake that process, not simply make a blanket claim for public interest immunity.
Senator Seselja interjecting—
Those opposite continue to interject. I listened to you in silence.
Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
This inquiry and all the other myriad inquiries into the border protection issue is a sad reflection on both the Labor Party and the Greens. We expect it from the Greens; we do not expect it from the Labor Party, which had six years to address these issues but failed completely. I regret to have to say this, but it is clear that the Labor Party and the Greens will take every action to destroy the efforts of this government in protecting our borders. The Labor Party showed themselves to be completely incapable of protecting the borders. There is now a government that can do it. The Labor Party do not like being shown up for the inefficient incompetents they were in government and so they will do everything to make sure this real, positive policy for Australia fails. They are on the side of the criminals who run the people-smuggling trade.
Look at all the inquiries and you will see it is the same. Labor cannot get over the fact that we are addressing the problem they created and could not deal with. Regrettably, the time for me to speak is short. I cannot believe the absolute hypocrisy of the Labor Party in talking about orders that were complied with. I am sure my colleague Senator Seselja, in his speech, pointed out that, in the 43rd Parliament, 53 orders of production were made against the Labor government, 26 were not complied with and seven were only partially complied with. In the 42nd parliament, similarly, 63 orders were made and 33 not complied with. And they have the hide to come in here and carry on as Senator Ludwig has just done. It really demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Australian Labor Party currently.
Senator Seselja also went through the more substantive reasons that it is the dissenting report which should be adopted by the Senate. The majority report is just another one of these political farces. The Labor Party and the Greens have the numbers. They could have written their majority report before the inquiry even started, because it was all predetermined and it is just a game—part of a Labor-Greens alliance that will do anything to destroy a policy that is actually working and correcting the mess the Labor Party made of our borders. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.


text:
Q: Sample size required to estimate population proportion with given precision
It plans to conduct a study on the percentage of homeowners who have at least two TVs.
What should be the sample size if we want to ensure that $95\%$ of estimation error is less than $0.01$?

The original French text version:

i have some old exercise in paper of  Inferential Statistics, i'm trying to rewrite it with solution in latex to stock it in my googledrive but i don't have any idea because It's been a long time since I studied. Any help would be much appreciated
as Mr Paul
we want to calculate
$$\operatorname{A confidence interval}=\overline{X}\pm E\quad  \textrm{with}\quad E={{Z}_{\tfrac{\alpha }{2}}}\sqrt{\dfrac{P(1-P)}{n}}$$
or
$${Z}_{\tfrac{\alpha }{2}}=1.98\quad P = 0.5 \quad n=?$$
Then
$$2\times 1.98\times \sqrt{\frac{0.5\left(1-0.5\right)}{n}}=0.01$$
Thus the sample size should be equal $9801$
Am I right ?

A: A confidence interval for the values of a random variable (like the % of homeowners in a sample who own at least 2 TV's) is of the form
$$\overline{X}\pm E$$
where $\overline{X}$ is the sample mean and E is the error. The form of E depends on the type of variable $X$ you are looking at but in your case, for a large sample of values n, it is given by
$$E={{Z}_{\tfrac{\alpha }{2}}}\sqrt{\dfrac{P(1-P)}{n}}$$
Here $P$ is an estimate of the mean $\%$ of homeowners who own at least $2$ TV's (this interval is called the "confidence interval for proportions" in most stats books). This might be done by taking a sample of homeowners but if no sample is taken the best estimate you have is $50\%$ or $P = 0.5$. The number ${Z}_{\tfrac{\alpha }{2}}$ can be looked up in a table and has the value $1.98$ for $\frac{\alpha}{2}=0.05$ or $5\%$ significance.
You now want to solve
$$0.01=1.98\sqrt{\dfrac{{{0.5}^{2}}}{n}}$$
for $n$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Man shot by police inside home at Kelso in Bathurst
A man has been shot dead by police officers at a home in Kelso, NSW
The shooting reportedly happened in the Bathurst town around 7pm
Police said the man confronted them when officers arrived at the scene
Four ambulances arrived at the View Street home, followed by a helicopter
By Kate Darvall For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 12:37 BST, 30 August 2017 | Updated: 14:53 BST, 30 August 2017
Police officers shot dead a man who confronted them when they responded to a call at a house in Bathurst on Wednesday night.
NSW Police said in a statement the man died at the scene after police responded to reports of 'an incident' at a residential street in Kelso, a Bathurst suburb, at about 7pm.
Four ambulances arrived at the home, reportedly in View Street, and a helicopter landed on a nearby oval, the Western Advocate reported.
A critical incident investigation has been launched to examine all circumstances surrounding the incident.
View Street has been closed off at both ends by the police.
Police officers shot dead a man who confronted them when they responded to a call at a house in Bathurst on Wednesday night
NSW Police said in a statement the man died at the scene after police responded to reports of 'an incident' at a residential street in Kelso
Four ambulances arrived at the home, reportedly in View Street, and a helicopter landed on a nearby oval
The Apprentice: Dramatic moment Shama Amin QUITS the show January 19, 2022
Amber Laidler welcomes first child with AFL star husband Jeremy eight weeks early January 19, 2022

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
of·the
This is an archived newsletter from Robin Sloan.
Week 15, a wayward planet whacked
Tunic, ca. 7th century Moche-Wari (Peru)
In the middle of this month, I'm traveling to Japan, where I'll stay for a little over two weeks; thus, no print offering in April, and no emails on the 21st or 28th, or on May 5th.
This week, I set up my sewing machine and did a couple of projects. First, I made some long-needed modifications to the DIY carry-on bag that I've used for a couple of years now. Here it is:
My previous bag was extremely non-DIY, made by the company Filson, and while it was sturdy and beautiful, it was also HEAVY. All those snaps and buckles and leather tabs—all that heritage—weighed like fifteen pounds before I'd loaded in a single sock!
So, I designed my own, jointly ripping off the SDR Traveller and Outlier's Ultrahigh Duffle. Like those two, my bag is made from Dyneema, a material that feels more like paper than fabric; it's extremely tough and preposterously light. It starts shiny, then takes on a crackly patina. I love it.
This kind of duffle-adjacent carry-on is definitely not for everybody, but it has improved my travel situation a lot and—many of you know this already—it's very satisfying to tote around an object you made yourself, unique in the universe. (Also, I used Fidlock snaps, and… just listen to this.)
Anyway, after traveling with this bag for a while, I'd identified some problems, so I added: a waterproof zipper; some new snaps; and, most importantly, a padded strap, made from dense foam. Previously, the strap was just plain nylon webbing, and often it would curl up and cut into my shoulder.
The second project was a little waist bag—
—which was easier-than-expected to sew, but/and I'm not quite satisfied with its design, so immediately after finishing it, I sat down to sketch a new one—
—which I'm going to try to make today!
My final assessment of the novel Tentacle, written by Rita Indiana, translated by Achy Obejas: Fantastic. This book is (a) short, (b) translated, and (c) about time travel; the trifecta. It has things to say about the culture of modern art, and a deep, telescoping view of history, and some real plot twists, and and and!
In the book's future, a character purchases a very expensive injection that will change their gender, and the sequence of paragraphs depicting the process—which happens very quickly—are among the best I've maybe ever read… depicting… anything. The whole book is super next-level sci-fi but it carries it so lightly; like, who, me?
It's one of the good ones, is what I'm saying.
March's print offering began arriving in mailboxes this week. Here's my Database with Susan's cat:
And Hunter's dog:
Or is that multiple dogs? I'm… actually not sure.
When he was introduced, the Incredible Hulk was intended to be gray, but printing errors meant he kept coming out green.
So, they decided to just go with green.
MCD has published the only book-related playlist that has ever been good, a pirate radio broadcast assembled by Tim Maughan for his novel Infinite Detail. We listened to it twice through in the media lab last week.
I wrote a blurb for Infinite Detail:
Looping and layered, disruptive and deeply linked―Tim Maughan's unsparing tale of the internet's end is a paper internet unto itself. The native 21st-century novel is coming into view; it looks like Infinite Detail.
Belt Buckle with a Griffin, ca. 6th century, Frankish
I loved this article for its dramatization of the day the dinosaurs died—a second-by-second recounting of some very intense events.
The thing about the past is: IT WAS ALL REAL. It was all there, just as complex and detailed as the world that surrounds you. It's basically impossible to hold that in your head. You just have to be reminded of it, again and again:
There are logjams of wood, fish pressed against cypress-tree root bundles, tree trunks smeared with amber.
Reading the dinosaur piece made me go back and re-read Rebecca Boyle's terrific story from a year ago about Earth's early days. It's dizzying in the same way, with the additional benefit of being delightfully written:
Not long after Earth coalesced, a wayward planet whacked into it with incredible force, possibly vaporizing Earth anew and forming the moon.
Whacked!
I'm mildly obsessed with a specific kind of artist on streaming platforms like Spotify who offer just a handful of tracks—with no sense of albums or even a "career," necessarily—but/and at least one of those tracks has blown up, been added to thousands of playlists, recommended by Spotify's algorithms, played millions of times around the world.
An example is the song "Janet" by M. T. Hadley, which is—all meta considerations aside—just a really beautiful piece of work. It was published on its own in 2016 and has been played over two million times. There have been no songs since.
To ground this a little, "Janet" has become a part of our like, "household culture" here in Oakland. It's on a key late-night drive playlist, so I've listened to this strange, lovely, orphan song dozens of times cruising through the darkness on I-80 or I-5.
What a thing.
I worry, sometimes, about these emails getting too linky. Personally, I find the "bundle of interesting links!" newsletters pretty monotonous; there's a sense of, is this all it's gonna be, forever?
On the other hand: links are interesting!
So, just know that I'm keeping an eye on the balance. And of course, this newsletter has an expiration date—it will run for the duration of this year—so no, this is not all it's gonna be, forever!
Pair of Gauntlets, ca. 1585, Italian
I'm off to sew!
☄R
April 2019, Oakland
This website uses the typeface Albertus Nova, an update by Toshi Omagari of Berthold Wolpe's classic, and GT America, designed by Noël Leu with Seb McLauchlan.
Have a question? Spot a typo? Your story didn't arrive? Email robin@robinsloan.com
hony soyt qui mal pence


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Attending Physicians maintain primary medical care and work closely with the hospice team to develop an individualized care plan for each patient.
Continuous Care Nurses specialize in handling a crisis situation and remain with the patient until pain and symptoms are under control.
Social Workers evaluate the overall emotional and psycho-social needs of the patient, family, and friends. Our social workers help families determine resources needed and assist in acquiring these resources.
Our Hospice Medical Director consults with members of our team to ensure the care plan meets the patient's needs.
Certified Nursing Aides visit patients to provide professional personal care and attention, including bathing, grooming, changing bed linens, and other light household tasks.
Our Office Staff provide the administrative support to allow our clinical team to continue delivering the quality care for our patients.
Registered Nurses visit the patient as needed and provide overall care management. Our nurses offer education, support, and expert pain and symptom control. Hospice East nurses are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Chaplains provide spiritual and pastoral support for patients and families, in the form of phone calls, visits, and general support.
Volunteers fill in for administrative tasks, fundraising, and providing patient/family support.
We are a small organization with an extremely large purpose. We CARE for our patients and their families, but are only able to do that with the support from our staff, volunteers, and donors.
Debbie began working as a social worker for Hospice East in 2004, and over the years has shown her dedication to the mission and philosophy of hospice care. Debbie earned her Bachelor Degree of Social Work from Morehead State University, her Master Degree of Social Work from the University of Kentucky, and is an Advanced certified Hospice and Palliatvie Care Social Worker.
Remembering her previous experience caring for patients and their families, allows Debbie to maintain a focus on the hospice mission and motivate her employees to continue to provide that special kind of caring. Debbie also focuses on ways Hospice East can serve the community throughout the year.
Jennifer joined the Hospice East family in the summer of 2015. Jennifer previously worked for Hospice East about 7 years ago, and is excited to rejoin the Hospice team. She brings 12 years of nursing experience, most recently from a skilled nursing facility.
Jennifer leads our clinical staff with an upbeat/positive attitude without ever losing sight of the Hospice mission. Her role in motivating and managing our clinical staff always centers around providing the best quality care for our patients.
Hospice of Clark County began in 1981 as a volunteer agency. The agency became an official organization in March of 1981 and continued to serve the needs of terminally ill patients and their families. In 1985 Hospice of Clark County was awarded the Certificate of Need, giving them the right to provide hospice services to Clark County residents. Medicare also began to recognize the need for at-home care in the final six months of a patient's life and added these services to covered benefits. Hospice of Clark County became Medicare certified in 1986 and began billing for these services. The 90's held many changes and expansion for Hospice of Clark County, beginning with a name change to Hospice East.
Hospice East began serving Powell County, in addition to Clark County, added contracts with local nursing homes, added a contract with Clark Regional Medical Center to provide inpatient unit services, and became accredited through JACHO. In 2016, we recognised a need to provide care for chronically ill patients who were not appropriate for hospice care. Hospice East created a new program, Palliative Care Partners to provide care for these patients who are homebound and need help managing symptoms of chronic illness. Currently, Hospice East continues to provide quality services to approximately 50 patients and their families in Clark and Powell Counties. We have added an office in Stanton, KY to service our Powell County residents, and our Clark County office is now located at 407 Shoppers Drive in Winchester, KY. We serve all patients equally, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, or ability to pay. We provide our quality care by hiring quality employees.


Although we take pride in individual accomplishments, alone we are less than what we can be.
Last week Letty Cottin Pogrebin spoke at Temple Isaiah in Lexington.
A minister shared our Love Should Be Safe video and wrote to us about the impact it had on one of his parishioners.
What does social bullying look like among older adults? Not so different than among adolescents.
A survivor of domestic abuse who received services from Journey to Safety shares an original poem.
The Center for Family Assistance is beginning our annual Holiday Gift Card Drive early this year.
Words impact perception and have the ability to convey respect or minimalize people.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Watch our video and learn why domestic abuse is a serious issue.
At JF&CS, we strive to think creatively about how to reach more clients. And we're seeing results.


When it comes to the arts, there are no limits as to when students can be discovering and developing their interests. This summer, California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley will open its campus for students ages eight through 16 to immerse themselves in a creative and nurturing environment to take lessons in acting, animation, dance, guitar, musical theater, photography, visual arts, vocal arts and creative writing. Students can learn beginning ceramics, how to use a DSLR camera, write a musical, play the guitar, and more.
The program runs from June 17 to June 21 at the CSArts-SGV campus, with opportunities for full-day and half-day (morning and afternoon) sessions. Similar to the academy offered at Orange County School of the Arts, CSArts Academy offers classes for students who are both enrolled and not enrolled in the 7th-12th grade program. The academy is also a perfect chance for students to experience the unique school culture and arts education offered at CSArts-SGV, if they are considering applying in the future.
"This program provides a comfortable, yet challenging environment that meets students wherever their artistic level currently exists. Many of the instructors also quickly adapt their curriculum within the first day to more accurately reflect the strengths and needs of the students enrolled," Cook said.
Registration is currently open for the week-long CSArts Academy program taking place June 17 through June 21 at the CSArts-SGV campus at 1401 Highland Ave., Duarte, California. To register and view a digital brochure, visit sgv.csarts.net/academy.


text:
The widow arrived at LaGuardia on a Sunday, but the rumors about the woman who had rented a big apartment, sight unseen, had taken an earlier flight. We had already reviewed, on many occasions and in hushed tones, in the quiet that comes after long hours of visiting, what little we knew about the widow and her dead husband.
About her life in the old country, we asked the obvious questions: Were there children? Cheryl heard from a friend who still lived in the Dominican Republic that they had only been married a year when he died. Had her husband been rich? No, our sources in the old country said, poor as a church mouse, with a big family to support out in el campo. Had the husband been handsome? Yes, in a rakish sort of way. And with what we knew we created him in our minds: medium height with a mop of curly hair and an easy laugh, walking down Saona Beach in a white linen guayabera, dropping suddenly to one knee. We ourselves felt a flutter in our hearts.
On the day the widow finally arrived in New York, the rain came in fast, heavy drops that sounded like tiny birds slamming into our windows. She emerged from the taxi with a single battered suitcase and, little-girl small, stared up at our building as the rain pelted her face. Behind us our men and children called out for their dinners, but we ignored them. We would wonder later if she had seen our faces pressed up against the windows, on all six floors, peering out over flowerpots full of barren dirt.
We watched her until she made her way out of the rain and into the lobby. Those of us lucky enough to live on the fourth floor squinted through our peepholes or cracked open our doors as the super carried her suitcase to the three-bedroom apartment she was renting. How could she afford it?
The little widow walked behind the super, her gait slow and steady on the black-and-white tiles of the hallway. He was rambling about garbage pickup and the rent. She was younger than we expected her to be, thirty, maybe. The amber outfit was all wrong for the chilly autumn weather. She was from Santo Domingo, but she looked like a campesina visiting the city for the first time, everything hand-sewn and outdated by decades. She wore an old-fashioned skirt suit, tailored and nipped at her round waist, and a pair of low-heeled black leather pumps. Seeing them made us glance down at our own scuffed sneakers and leggings. On her head, she wore a pillbox hat, in matching yellow wool sculpted butter-smooth. She dressed her short, plump body as though she adored it.
Instantly, we took a dislike.
We ourselves had been raised on a diet of telenovelas and American magazines, and we knew what beauty was. We gathered after dinner to laugh at her peculiar clothes. We murmured with fake sympathy about her loneliness, and joked that she might turn our husbands' heads. When we ran into her, though, we smiled and asked her how she was finding New York.
We began to invent stories about the little widow's life: torrid affairs that had driven her husband to die of heartbreak, a refusal to give him children, a penchant for hoarding money—we repeated the tales until we half believed them. The drama of the little widow's previous life became richer and denser, like a thicket of fast-growing ivy. Who did she think she was, anyway? Living alone in that big apartment?
The little widow seemed to understand what we expected of her: she muttered only quiet thank-yous when we held the door open as she struggled with her groceries, or when we helped her up after she slipped on a patch of ice in front of the building and landed flat on her back. As briskly as she could, she composed herself and disappeared, her head bowed low into the collar of her quaint amber coat.
When we heard that the little widow could sew, we started bringing her dresses and pants to hem, mostly because we wanted to know how she lived. The little widow's three-bedroom apartment was laid out like the others, but as she worked, our eyes darted hungrily between her and the contents of her sewing room.
Her hair was curly, dyed reddish brown, and cut short around a pointed
chin. When we got to see her up close, we noted that though she did have deep creases at the corners of her eyes, she did not have a widow's peak. Her eyes were a dark hazel, and her pupils so small they looked like pinpricks.
The little widow had wallpapered her sewing room with a cheap burlap. When one of us slipped a fingernail underneath a panel and discovered that the rough cloth was glued on, we crossed ourselves and said a quick prayer for the little widow's security deposit.
On that burlap the little widow had embroidered massive, swaying palm trees, so finely detailed that we could almost feel a salty breeze warm our faces as we stood on her tailor's pedestal. Running our fingertips across the embroidered walls we could feel the braille of her labor; the grains of sand were individually stitched, as if the little widow knew each one. The ocean seemed to ripple and surge as the little widow worked around us in meditative silence, kneeling near our ankles with a pin between her lips. She was so gentle and fluid in her movements, her soft skin creasing like a plump baby's around the pincushion she wore on her wrist.
We liked her in those moments, but even so, we didn't invite her to our birthday parties or gatherings at Christmas, though we knew she was alone in that large apartment, watching the passing of the seasons, just as we did, through black-barred windows.
We imagined she would soon have to take in a subletter to make ends meet. We mentioned that a cousin was coming to work at a coffee-filter factory and needed a place to live. She didn't have a lot of money yet, we explained, but she would be able to pay back rent on a room once she started collecting paychecks. And that could be a good source of extra income!
The little widow tilted her head to one side and appeared to think about it. She said yes, and Lucy, a single girl from Higüey, moved into the little widow's spare bedroom.
The goodwill the little widow won among us was short-lived. On a visit to get a skirt hemmed, Sonia asked to use the restroom and snuck into the little widow's bedroom. Like the wall of her sewing room, the wall across from her bed was covered with burlap, and on that canvas the little widow had hand-stitched tidy rows of Limé dolls.
The faceless dolls looked just like the clay figurines tourists bought as souvenirs. They varied in hair and clothing—some wore their hair in a single thick plait, draped down the side of their necks, and some wore it down around their shoulders. Their dresses were every color of the rainbow and some wore Sunday hats and carried baskets of flowers. But rendered in the little widow's hand, these familiar dolls took on an eerie quality. Sonia studied the wall for a long time and became convinced that the dolls represented us.
Homepage art from New and Recent Paintings by Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum


I created my first blog for 12 years ago today. It's long since abandoned--The Blue Room is blog #3 for me--but I still remember the first post: a taxonomy of Christmas music to blow off steam during the height of Clergy Superbowl stress. I think about three people read it, all with the last name McKibben. So much has changed in me... and in the Internet. Blogs aren't what they used to be, although I'm grateful people stop by here to read what I have to say.
In honor of that silly first post about Christmas music, I share this graphic that came across Facebook last week, created (I think) by John Shouse and shared by my friend Cathy Boyd. Brilliant!
And Happy New Year! ...It'll be even happier if you sign up to receive Gate of the Year, a free workbook/playbook to help you do a review of 2015 and set intentions and visions for 2016. Learn more here. Sign up here.
I met Marthame Sanders a couple of years ago at an event at Columbia Seminary. Since then we've followed one another on Facebook and shared a mutual interest in improv and the spiritual life. Marthame was lucky enough to receive a sabbatical grant last summer which allowed him to study improv at Second City. Right now I'm working on a grant application for a similar purpose myself, but in the meantime, it's great fun to see what Marthame and others are doing to encourage an improvisational "posture" in worship and think about how to expand those skills into the larger church. (Church of the Pilgrims in DC is also doing great work in this--see Ashley Goff's blog for more.) Marthame wrote recently on his blog about an anthem the congregation composed in the middle of worship. So rad. I especially love the acknowledgement that while there are many more polished, technically "perfect" pieces of worship music out there, there's something powerful about creating something right in the moment. And it sounds like he provided just enough structure for this creative work to happen.
Thanks for sharing this inspiration, Marthame!!
Pulling the weekly bulletin together is always an act of improvisation.
It rarely looks like it; after all, it is the planned order of worship that the congregation receives a few days later. And yet, there is always something that we hadn't anticipated: a hymn we chose that's unfamiliar; a special litany that needs to be included; a Scripture that doesn't speak to the moment…There are always last minute adjustments. This past Sunday, however, stood apart.
Tim, our Music Director, was returning from a month-long sojourn in Europe. Our worship planning had gotten us through his absence, but we had not planned for his return. Tim and I agreed that the two of us would "do something", and that was as concrete as it got.
Last Sunday, our Scripture was Psalm 146 from the Narrative Lectionary. During our time with children, I told them how the psalms were meant to be sung, and that Tim and I had nothing planned. And so we needed their help figuring out what it was we were going to sing.
I read the Psalm, asking them to say something like "I like that" when I read something that grabbed their attention. Then I told them we needed to figure out our key: I needed a letter between A and G and two numbers between 2 and 6. After one child asked if it needed to be a whole number, we got our suggestions: A, 3, and 5. That became the chord progression.
I will sing my praise to God all my life.
The congregation soon joined in; I used the "liked" phrases to build verses. It took a while. The melody wandered on- and off-key, but we always returned to the chorus with full energy.
I have heard prettier and more interesting melodies. I have encountered more poetic lyrics. This was no Coltrane or Davis. And yet, there was something about this particular piece of music that "worked". Along with everything else, the whole process invested the congregation in the anthem in a unique way. It wasn't just Tim's music or the choir's music or my music; it was our music, our praise. Our shared creation had them "rooting" for the music in a new way.
Marthame Sanders is pastor of Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. His 2014 Sabbatical in Chicago focused on the intersection of Spirit, creativity, and improvisation, including classes at the Second City Training Center. Since returning to Atlanta, he has continued with classes at Dad's Garage and has incorporated improv exercises into congregational leadership training. His website is www.marthame.com.
An Advent Playlist: What Would You Add?
Got to talking on Facebook the other day about Advent albums---in theory, this should be its own thing, as a season separate from Christmas, but it's often folded into the behemoth category of Christmas music.
I only knew of one album of Advent music, but of course, many friends schooled me on the other great ones out there. So I've been building a bit of a playlist, which people have asked for.
Here you go---sorry there are no links, but I'm doing this quickly since we're celebrating a certain seven year old's birthday today. A quick Google or iTunes search will get you there.
Advent at Ephesus, Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. I dumped the whole album onto the playlist because it's such lovely choral music.
Midwinter, Peter Mayer. This singer-songwriter hits just the right Adventish tone on this album of original music, though a few tracks are explicitly Christmasy. So you should avoid Stables, Christmas Morning, Heavenly Child, and Make My Christmas Day until later. But don't forget to add them to your Christmas playlist because they're beautiful. I dream of using Where Is the Light with a church choir someday. It's rousing!
Advent, Vol. 1 and Advent, Vol. 2, The Brilliance. These were recommendations, haven't downloaded them yet. Same with Advent by Tangled Blue.
Each Winter As the Year Grows Colder, Marty Haugen. Haven't found a version of this that I love, but the words are wonderful, very Adventish.
God, Beyond All Names, Bernadette Farrell. I like the Trinity Episcopal Church version. I could listen to these lyrics all day. And it has a fun alto line.
Gabriel's Message, Sting. He has a couple versions of this (most recently on his Winter's Night album) but I like the original 1980s version from A Very Special Christmas.
Enjoy! What have I missed?
It's a heavy time in the world. Ebola. Israel and Palestine... please let the cease fire hold. Ukraine---still unstable, and I have a personal stake in this. There are no Christians left in Mosul, Iraq for the first time in almost 2,000 years. The children keep coming from central America, fleeing a level of violence and lawlessness (or even just poverty) we can scarcely imagine. And those little Nigerian girls are still missing.
The globalization of the news means it all appears right in my blue room. I wouldn't have it any other way. As David Wilcox sings, "there's no 'far away.'"
So like many of you, I do what I can, and I take my signs of hope and joy where I can get them. It is a privileged thing to be able to do that, to turn one's attention elsewhere for a while. But I must. We must. Otherwise it's too overwhelming.
Serving communion to one of our members who's in a nursing home. She wanted the five of us gathered to sing "On Eagle's Wings". We didn't know the words, but no problem: Safari on the iPhone to the rescue. Best communion I've attended in a long time.
The discovery of Moms RUN This Town, a running club whose local chapter has a Facebook page. After 3 years of running solo and only occasionally with friends because of my crazy schedule, I now have access to groups of people in the neighborhood running early and late and fast and slow and everything in between.
This guy. Just this guy. You're going to want to fast forward, but don't. Just let it emerge.
What is making your life awesome right now?
photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography via photopin cc. I chose it simply for its beauty.
I've got technology on the brain these days as I work on my book, so I was interested in how people were experiencing the concert with and through their smartphones. It's been a couple of years since I've been to Wolf Trap, but I've seen the norms change dramatically even during that time. Whipping out one's phone to send a text or check Facebook used to be rare and (I sensed) frowned upon. By now it's the norm, at least on the lawn.
Before I go further, let me say this: the vast majority of cell phone usage I saw was from people who were way older than I am. So those of you clearing your throats for your "kids today" lecture, save it. This is a seriously intergenerational phenomenon now.
Here are some ways I witnessed people using their phones during the concert... or did so myself.
Taking notes on her setlist, presumably to download tunes later, or create a playlist.
Googling the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, a free program for underserved kids in the Vancouver area that provides high-quality music programs and lessons at no charge, which Sarah mentioned during the show.
Random checking of social media during the slow moments.
Lifting up glowing screens during the slow songs, with or without the benefit of the Candle app.
Recording snippets of songs to share with friends.
My guess is that some of those activities seem legit to you, and others make you bristle. Which ones and why?
It should be said, I could've done without the gals in front of me taking repeated selfies after it got dark... with the flash.
UPDATE for 2014: I've created a Spotify playlist, though not all of the songs were available.
You knew this was coming... after all, I have strong opinions about holiday music.
On one hand, a running playlist consisting of holiday tunes is a daunting assignment. Christmas music is much more "hot toddy" than "hill repeats."
On the other hand... I own a LOT of Christmas music.
So here it is: the Christmas playlist, and at more than 25 songs, it's a long one. It may not get you pumping your fists like Rocky or strutting like Queen Bey or two-stepping to Texas, but it'll put a jingle in your step and a smile on your sweaty Grinch face.
Full list is below, including album info as needed.
P.S. Are you on my email list? Inspiration sent quarterly-ish. Sign up here.
I've been talking about it on Facebook and Twitter for weeks, and here it is, today's "Gettysburg sermon." At 272 words, it is the same length as Lincoln's masterful address, delivered 150 years ago on Tuesday.
Err... let's just say he had a gift.
O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. The LORD has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD. Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Here is a psalm for the month of thanksgiving! It is infused with gratitude as the psalmist rhapsodizes about God's glory, the wonders of creation, and the thankful songs of the people of God. We are sailing along on a swelling sea of words like joy, steadfast love, faithfulness.
God is coming to judge us. To judge.
Maybe you're rubbing your hands together imagining "bad guys" getting what they deserve, and "good guys" getting their reward, courtesy of God's perfect justice.
Maybe you're making a mental tally of your secret transgressions, squirming, wondering what side of the ledger sheet you will come out on.
Maybe you're disturbed by the idea of a judging God.
Note that, in the midst of God coming as judge, the psalmist doesn't tell us to shape up... or beg us to repent. He doesn't even urge us to get to work doing what God commands.
Instead, he asks us to sing.
God will come—God does come—among us. But we don't worry or calculate. We don't try to measure up or crack God's code. We simply inhale deeply, breathing in God's spirit, and sing—with our voices, with our lives, and here with this community.
Yesterday's health fair, and last week's CROP hunger walk, are more than mission activities. They are songs of praise, joyfully offered to a God who promises to be with us always, who calls us not to despair, but to offer a new song.
UPDATE: Here are three additional Gettysburg sermons, from Jason Cashing, Rob Jackson, and Jen Hackbarth. Thanks for sharing, everyone!
Like many Presbyterian churches, Tiny Church recently purchased a set of the new hymnal, Glory to God. (I love it.) Now, of course, we have stacks and stacks of blue (1990) hymnals we are no longer using. We'll keep a set of them, but we're starting to talk about what to do with the extras. Are there fledgling church communities or nursing homes that could use them? Undoubtedly... though I suspect many of these organizations will be inundated with offers of old hymnals since there's a lot of us suddenly trying to unload these things.
If and when we find a new home for the hymnals, there will be some random extras that are in such poor condition that they can't be passed along. I myself have 2 or 3 hymnals floating around my house and study, and they are not fit to donate.
So... how about upcycling the copies that have lived a good life and are ready for some transformation? Old sheet music is beautiful and historic and a lovely material to work with. It's good stewardship to give these old books new life.
Presenting: five easy Advent crafts using the blue hymnal!
My girls and I are in the middle of making these right now and they are pretty and simple to make. The circles of music are so pretty, and the snatches of lyrics are festive. I got a set of Christmas-themed stamps and some burlap ribbon and we're good to go. We're putting sheet music on each side so there's no "wrong" side.
This picture is done with a wedding invitation but it would be easy to create strips of hymns and coil them inside the ornaments. Add a decorative ribbon and you're done. Here's one set of plastic ornaments I found.
For this project and the one above, it would be nice to have a small tag explaining the source of the music... especially if these are gifts.
This is a craft and a contemplative activity rolled into one---great for a Quiet Day or prayer gathering. Take a favorite Advent/Christmas hymn (or maybe a non-favorite) and read through it for words or phrases you might string together to make a new poem. Circle those words and doodle the rest of the page as shown.
Oldie but goodie! Use strips of hymnal pages to make a garland for the tree or a Christmas "countdown" chain. I can report that vertical strips of the hymnal are a good length for stringing together.
Scroll to the bottom of this page for instructions. This is the most complicated of the five options here, but still not all that challenging.
I've started a Pinterest board with these and other ideas for upcycling the old hymnals. With each liturgical season---Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost---I will choose my favorites and create a post just like this one. In the meantime you can follow my "upcycling-the-hymnal" board (or all of my boards).
Speaking of ways to connect, starting later this month I'll be writing weekly email articles including tips and inspiration to have a "Sabbathy" Advent. Sign up for those here.
It's been a few weeks since I put together a running playlist---my epic soundtrack list has served me well. But I need something new for this, my first 30-mile week.
This week's list includes songs from sports-themed movies, plus several stadium/ballpark favorites. Here's what I have so far, but I need more. What would you add? And a bonus question: What song would you pick to be played when you walk onto the field into a room?


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Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing
Perhaps you've heard of the "seven-year itch"? Well, when it comes to road racing, the Yamaha Factory Superbike team has been successfully scratching that itch for race wins and Championships for the past seven years in a row. Through two iterations of the all-conquering Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike, and at the hands of three highly talented riders backed by the best and brightest crew of technicians, component specialists, and support staff, the Yamaha Factory Superbike team has dominated professional motorcycle road racing in the U.S. Cameron Beaubier is the two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion and proudly carries the big Number One plate on his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing R1 Superbike for the second year in a row. And his teammate Josh Hayes, a four-time AMA Superbike Champion with all four of his titles won aboard the Yamaha R1 Superbike, continues to give Cameron all he can handle on the racetrack in this, his eighth consecutive year with the Yamaha Factory Superbike team.
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Yamaha's partnership with Monster Energy began in 2007 when the two joined forces with Graves Motorsports to compete in the AMA Supermoto series, winning three championships and an X Games Gold in a two-year span. In 2011, Monster Energy became title sponsor of the Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike team. Together, Monster Energy and Yamaha have won six AMA Superbike Championships in a row, including two consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike titles. In addition, the Monster Energy/Yamaha partnership has won three AMA Daytona SportBike/Supersport Championships, including two consecutive MotoAmerica Supersport titles.
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Celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, Yamalube formulates the only oil "built around" the unique demands, operating characteristics, and applications of the various motorsports engines that Yamaha produces. And, whether it's Yamalube four-stroke or two-stroke oil, all of the races and Championships that Yamaha's U.S. factory teams have won in road racing, motocross, supercross, and off-road racing over the years have been accomplished with Yamalube in the engines.
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CAMERON BEAUBIER
There's an old saying that "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." But, with 8 wins, 13 podiums, and 4 pole positions in 2016, there was nothing discernably "uneasy" about Cameron Beaubier last year as he successfully defended his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Cameron went about the business of winning races and another Championship with a quiet confidence that belied the fact that he is still a very young man.
There was no "sophomore slump" for Cameron in 2015 during his second year with the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Superbike team despite competing in a brand-new series--MotoAmerica--and racing a brand-new motorcycle--the all-new 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike. Cameron took to the new R1 like a fish to water, and he won 8 races and earned three poles. It was his consistency that made all the difference. Cameron finished on the podium in 17 out of 18 races during the inaugural MotoAmerica Superbike season, and he won the 2015 Superbike title by four points over his teammate and AMA Superbike legend Josh Hayes.
New to the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha SuperBike team in 2014, Cameron adapted quickly to his #2 R1 and notched 3 race wins, 7 podium finishes, and two pole positions to finish third in the 2014 AMA Pro SuperBike Championship.
In 2013, Cameron had an absolutely dominant season aboard his #6 Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R6. He won 12 of the 13 races--including the Daytona 200--and he finished second in the only race he didn't win. Cameron had a season sweep in qualifying, earning all eight DSB pole positions, and he also won the coveted Rolex Daytona Cosmograph wristwatch for earning the pole for the Daytona 200. In addition, he broke the lap record at six racetracks in a row--including twice in one season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
In 2012, despite a season of literal ups and downs that led to three injury-involving incidents--two away from the track and one in competition--Cameron won seven DSB races. He also earned his first career DSB pole, his first career DSB win, and his first-ever double win all in the same race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
In 2011, Cameron moved up to the Daytona SportBike class on his Yamaha R6 where he earned six top-five finishes in 13 starts and finished the season sixth overall in the Championship standings. His impressive results caught the eyes of Yamaha Racing chiefs and, soon after the season ended, he was recruited to join the Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha team.
In 2010, Cameron won two races in SuperSport, one being his very first race on a 600 at Daytona, and the other at Infineon. In 2009, he rode for Red Bull KTM in the 125cc Grand Prix World Championship. In 2008, he was a member of the Red Bull MotoGP Academy, and he also competed in the Spanish GP125 Championship.
Year Turned Pro:
Favorite Track:
@cameronbeaubier
instagram.com/cameronbeaubier
facebook.com/cameronbeaubier
RACING HIGHLIGHTS
#1 MotoAmerica Superbike; 8 race wins, 13 podiums, 4 poles
#2 Superbike Shootout; 1 race win, 2 podiums, 1 pole
#3 AMA Pro Superbike; 3 race wins, 7 podiums, 2 poles
#1 Daytona SportBike, won 12 of 13 races, broke 6 track lap records, Daytona 200: Qualified 1st (Rolex watch winner) Daytona 200 (1st)
7 DSB wins; 3rd in Championship
5 DSB podiums
2 SuperSport wins
125 GP top 15
#2 in Spanish GP125 Championship
Red Bull Rookies Cup - 1 win, 3 podiums
JOSH HAYES
Once again in 2016, "Mr. Four-Time" Josh Hayes came oh-so-close to getting "one for the thumb" with his fifth AMA Superbike Championship. Josh finished the season just six points behind his teammate Cameron Beaubier, and it came down to the final race of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park to decide it all.
In 2015, aboard his brand-new #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1, Josh notched 10 Superbike wins during MotoAmerica's inaugural season. He also reached the podium in 16 out of 18 races and earned 5 pole positions. With gaudy stats like that, you'd think that "The Mississippi Madman" would've won his fifth AMA Superbike title for Yamaha, but his teammate Cameron Beaubier nipped him by just 4 points for the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike title.
Josh showed in 2014 that the #4 on his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 SuperBike was an omen. On the strength of his 7 race wins and 3 second-place finishes out of 11 races this season, Josh captured his fourth AMA Pro SuperBike Championship in the past five years. He also won the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Championship in 2014.
Finishing a close second in the 2013 AMA Pro SuperBike points standings to his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate and 2013 SuperBike Champ Josh Herrin. Hayes won eight races and earned two additional podiums. The Mississippi Madman also had a season sweep in qualifying, earning all eight SuperBike pole positions, and he set a new lap record at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
In 2012, Josh won his third consecutive SuperBike Championship, and he did it in record-setting fashion, rewriting AMA Pro Road Racing history in several categories. Josh set a new record for most SuperBike wins in a single season with 16, and he also set a new record for most consecutive SuperBike wins in a single season with 10. In addition, Josh tied the record for most SuperBike poles in a single season with 10, and he had seven perfect weekends. In seven rounds during the 2012 season, Josh qualified his #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 SuperBike in the pole position, won both SuperBike races, and also led the most laps in both races.
Josh won his second consecutive SuperBike Championship in 2011, as well as his second SuperBike title in a row for Yamaha. He captured seven poles, three wins, and nine podium finishes in defending his championship. He only finished off the podium twice over the course of the entire season, and he won the Championship on the final lap of the final race.
The 2010 season saw Josh fulfill his lifelong goal of becoming AMA Pro SuperBike Champion. In the process, he also won Yamaha's first SuperBike title in 19 years, scoring seven race victories and earning multiple bonus points for pole positions and laps led on the season.
In 2009, Josh joined the Yamaha family for the first time and won seven races en route to second place in the AMA Pro SuperBike Championship.
Josh won back-to-back Formula Extreme Championships in 2007 and 2006, and in 2003, he won the AMA 750 SuperStock Championship. He made his AMA Pro Racing debut in 1999 where he won the 750 SuperSport race at Daytona and finished third in the Formula Extreme class for the season.
Starting his road racing career at 19, Josh made a quick ascension up through the ranks where he won his first three WERA titles in 1994 and numerous others in the following four years.
Married to Melissa Paris-Hayes
Road America, Utah Motorsports Campus
@hayes131
instagram.com/joshhayes4
facebook.com/Josh-Hayes
#2 MotoAmerica Superbike; 10 race wins, 16 podiums, 5 poles
#1 SuperBike; 7 wins, 10 podiums, 3 poles #1 Superbike Shootout; 1 race win, 3 podiums, 1 pole
#2 SuperBike; 8 SB wins, 10 podiums & 8 SB poles
#1 SuperBike; set AMA records for 10 consecutive SB wins & 16 SB wins in a season; ties AMA record with 10 SB poles
#1 Superbike
#2 Formula Xtreme
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha
There's a new sheriff in town. In fact, there are two. Not only did tall Texan Garrett Gerloff win the shootout last year with his teammate and defending MotoAmerica Supersport Champion JD Beach to notch his first-career MotoAmerica Supersport title, but for 2017, Garrett will be aboard the refined, redesigned, and remarkable Yamaha YZF-R6 with the Number One plate signifying that he is the defending Champ. JD is also back with the team for 2017, and he'll be racing hard aboard his brand-new Number 95 R6 to take back the Championship that he reluctantly surrendered in 2016. And they'll be backed by their highly experienced and hugely successful Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha team, operated out of the Graves Motorsports race shop in Van Nuys, California, in partnership with Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Motorsports is a proven vehicle for marketing brands, gaining exposure, and developing new products and services. At Yamaha, we are proud that the following partners have put their faith in us, and have provided their ongoing support as sponsors of our Supersport Team. They share our passion for racing, and we consider them to not only be our business partners, but also, our friends.
Yamaha Extended Service
In 2011, Yamaha Extended Service (Y.E.S.) came on board as a title sponsor of Yamaha's 600cc racing team. Y.E.S. is an extended warranty program developed and administered by Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., specifically for Yamaha products. The team's long-term relationship with Y.E.S. is a testament to the effectiveness that the sponsorship provides in increasing awareness of the many benefits that Y.E.S. provides to Yamaha customers.
GARRETT GERLOFF
Last year, Garrett earned 3 pole positions, notched 6 race wins, and stood on the podium in all but one of the 16 races on his way to winning the 2016 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship. His quiet confidence and consistency helped him take the title and realize his lifelong dream.
In 2015, Garrett won his first career MotoAmerica Supersport race, at Road Atlanta aboard his #31 Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha R6. At the following round--VIRginia International Raceway--he suffered a fractured finger on his left hand during qualifying. Tough as nails, Garrett battled through the pain, and didn't miss a single race all season long. He won his second Supersport race of the season on the world stage during MotoGP weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All told, Garrett reached the podium 10 times in 2015 and earned two poles.
Garrett won the three-event GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Pro Sportbike Championship in 2014 with two race victories and one second-place finish aboard his #8 Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R6. In addition, he had six top-five finishes in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, finishing fifth on the season.
Competing in his first full season of Daytona SportBike competition, Garrett finished third in the 2013 Championship points standings, with 11 top-five finishes that included 5 second-place results.
2012 was Garrett's rookie season in DSB, and it was an eventful one…for precisely the wrong reason. In the very first practice session for the very first race of the season--the Daytona 200--Garrett highsided his Yamaha R6 and suffered a fractured femur. He returned to action for the final three rounds of the 2012 season, but he competed in SuperSport instead of DSB to get himself back into racing shape. Everything came good for Garrett in the season's final round at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, where he won Sunday's race.
In 2011, Garrett raced in the WERA National Challenge Series where he qualified on pole for every 600 Superstock race, tallied 9 wins in 14 races, and was only off the podium twice, finishing the season with the 600 Superstock Expert Championship. He then made his AMA Pro Racing debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park where he learned the track quickly and won his first-ever professional race. Having an eye for talent, Chuck Graves wasted no time in signing Garrett to campaign the entire 2012 DSB series on a Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha R6.
The 2010 season was Garrett's first year on a 600, and he won the 600 Superbike Expert WERA National Championship. He also won the Youth Rider of the Year Award presented by the AMA Road Race Grand Championships and the AMA RRGC 600 Supersport Expert Championship.
In 2009, Garrett earned a double win at Jennings GP, which was his first victory in USGPRU competition. He was on the podium at every race weekend and, by the end of the year, he wrapped up three USGPRU National Championships and two WERA National Championships.
Garrett was raised on a motorcycle. From the time he was four years old, he was racing around all of the motocross tracks in south Texas. He got his first road racing motorcycle in 2007 and never looked back.
@garrettgerloff
instagram.com/garrettgerloff
facebook.com/Garrett-Gerloff
#1 MotoAmerica Supersport, 6 race wins, 15 podiums, 3 poles
#3 MotoAmerica Supersport; 2 race wins, 10 podiums, 2 poles
#1 Superbike Shootout Pro Sportbike; 2 race wins, 3 podiums, 2 poles
#5 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike; 3 podiums, 6 top-five finishes
#3 Daytona SportBike
Daytona 200: Qualified 2nd Daytona 200 (2nd)
Won final SuperSport race of season (NOLA)
WERA 600 SS National Champ
USGPRU Moriwaki 250 National Champ
8th in USGPRU 125cc Championship
First year in Road Racing
JD BEACH
JD had the big Number One plate emblazoned on his Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha R6 in 2016, telling the world that he was the defending MotoAmerica Supersport Champ. And, he lived up to his advance billing all season long, winning eight races on the season, which were the most victories of anyone competing in the class. The 2016 Championship came down to the final race of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and JD narrowly missed out on back-to back titles, finishing the season as runner-up to his teammate Garrett by a scant four points.
One of the big stories of MotoAmerica's inaugural season was the resurgence of JD Beach. In his second year with Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha, JD got his first career Supersport win at The Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX, which was the very first round on the 2015 MotoAmerica schedule. From there, he went on to win 7 more races--including back-to-back double wins at Barber Motorsports Park and Miller Motorsports Park, reached the podium a total of 13 times on the season, and earned 3 poles on his way to winning the 2015 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
JD joined the Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team in 2014 and notched four AMA Pro Daytona SportBike podium finishes on his way to finishing fourth in the Championship.
In 2013, JD's second year with RoadRace Factory/Yamaha, he finished fourth in the 2013 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike final points standings with 11 top fives and 7 podiums on the year.
JD competed in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike in 2012, aboard a RoadRace Factory/Yamaha R6, where he earned 17 top-10 finishes in 19 races and finished 6th in the standings. He finished 8th in the AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Singles points standings, with his best race result being a 4th in Peoria, Illinois. He also raced in five AMA Pro Flat Track Expert Twins events, earning one pole position and two top-5 finishes.
In 2011, he finished fourth in the Daytona 200 before moving up to AMA Pro SuperBike, where he earned six top-10 finishes in 12 races. He also raced in AMA Pro Flat Track where, out of seven starts in the Grand National class, JD notched four top-10s and one top-5 result.
2010 was a big year for JD, as he moved from Snoqualmie, Washington to Philpot, Kentucky. The move to the Bluegrass State paid off because he won the AMA Pro SuperSport East Division Championship.
2009 was JD's first year as a professional road racer. He competed in AMA Pro SuperSport where he got on the podium three times, had a best finish of second, and finished second in the East Division Championship. That same year, he also finished fourth in the AMA Pro Flat Track Pro Singles Championship, earning three race wins and five podiums.
In 2008, JD won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Championship in only his second year as a road racer, becoming the first American ever to win the title.
2007 was JD's first year of road racing when he was selected to compete in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Championship. As a rookie road racer, he finished 16th in points, with a best finish of 8th.
Born in Snoqualmie, Washington, JD followed in his father's steel-shoed footsteps and started flat track racing when he was just three years old.
Miller Motorsports Park
@JDBeach95
instagram.com/jdbeach95
facebook.com/jdbeachracing
#1 MotoAmerica Supersport; 8 wins, 13 podiums, 3 poles
#3 Superbike Shootout Pro Sportbike; 1 podium, 3 top-five finishes
4th in the Daytona 200
AMA Pro SuperSport East Division Champ
Join Our Mailing ListBE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHAT'S NEW!
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See how our development has powered Graves teams, sponsored teams and riders to 8 Moto America / AMA Superbike championships along with numerous 600cc titles.
When available, see our INSTRUCTIONS page for Abode PDF installation documents on Graves' products HERE
TOP MOTORCYCLES / UTV
KTM Super DukeR
KTM Super Duke
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About Graves
7629 Densmore ave
Van Nuys, Ca. 91406
sales@gravesport.com
We at Greaves Racing have been made believers in the Graves Product Line for the Yamaha YXZ 1000r, the only UTV we use and trust under our awning! Our experience with the exhaust and the ECU Tune for this unit have proven to be of the highest quality and is recommended for anyone wanting great results!
Johnny & CJ Greaves
The parts, accessories, and technology that Graves develops in conjunction with our race team partners for the Graves race teams are refined to perfection through tireless work at our Van Nuys, CA facility, the MotoAmerica events, and many tests at race tracks across the country. This hard work has resulted in many race wins, numerous championships, and elevating the level of our partner race teams. These same parts, accessories, and technology are available to our customers.
Rick Williams - Chuck Graves Racing, Inc.
I purchased my 2016 Yamaha R1M in May, added the Graves cat elim, flash tune and autoblip right away. My bike is an animal now totally changed. Thank you.
Fast Eddie - New Jersey
I purchased a cheap flimsy tag bracket for my ZX10 that almost vibrated my tail section off. Tossed in for the Graves' setup and never looked back these things are built to last!
Casey - Florida
© 2010-2019 Graves Motorsports
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm Eastern Standard
Contact Us: sales@gravesport.com or Call: (800)-867-6480


text:
Stewart Lee Joins ADF For Anti-Brexit Anthem
By Spencer Grady
As the countdown to Brexit continues, Stewart Lee joins rock'n'roll agitators Asian Dub Foundation for a new video which challenges the inherent racism underlying UK immigration policy
Satirical (and sartorial) usurper Stewart Lee has taken his place as the very temporary frontman of Asian Dub Foundation for a brand new video to accompany their track, 'Comin' Over Here', a tongue-in-cheek riposte to Brexit-fuelled racism and years of xenophobic UK immigration laws.
The song, based on the sample of a classic Stewart Lee sketch, was released on Asian Dub Foundation's album, Access Denied.
Commenting on the collaboration, Lee said: "I heard Paul Nuttalls, then leader of the UKIPS, on Radio 4 talking about immigration and it was so jumbled up it made me laugh. I went home, played back the interview, transcribed it, and exaggerated it until I had Paul taking a position against matter itself, and by lunchtime it was done."
"The routine has had a massive half life, and seems to go viral whenever people are arguing about immigration. I am glad it has given some comedy comfort to people who feel like they don't recognise the intolerant country we now seem to be in. When ADF said they wanted to sample it I couldn't be happier, as it seemed the final stage of letting go to serve the greater good. And what 50-something frustrated rock star could say no to appearing in a video with a veteran punk-dance combo whose records he'd buy anyway?"
"The version of the routine I gave ADF is a bit fuzzy on some dates and a syllable of the Anglo Saxon poetry quote seems to have gone astray – every time I performed it there'd be slippage – but I love how they have tweaked it to serve their purposes in the debate about what exactly constitutes the ever fluid notion of national identity. I love how the flute break before the Anglo Saxon quote sounds like it's come from 1,000 years ago, and the record is the only thing I've ever been involved in that my kids actually like."
"Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of Brexit itself, every time a deadline looms the police report upsurges of violence against those perceived by some as unwelcome here. ADF seem to have made something that was merely funny into something improbably powerful and it is a great honour to have been involved in it."
Stewart Lee's playlist and My World interview will appear in the January/February 2021 issue of Songlines, on sale December 18. Never miss an issue – subscribe today!
Read our review of Asian Dub Foundation's Access Denied via the Songlines Reviews Database


text:
package software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr;

import junit.framework.Assert;
import org.junit.AfterClass;
import org.junit.BeforeClass;
import org.junit.Test;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr.model.CreateRepositoryRequest;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr.model.CreateRepositoryResponse;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr.model.DeleteRepositoryRequest;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr.model.DescribeRepositoriesRequest;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.ecr.model.Repository;
import software.amazon.awssdk.testutils.service.AwsIntegrationTestBase;

public class EcrIntegrationTest extends AwsIntegrationTestBase {

    private static final String REPO_NAME = "java-sdk-test-repo-" + System.currentTimeMillis();
    private static EcrClient ecr;

    @BeforeClass
    public static void setUpClient() throws Exception {
        ecr = EcrClient.builder().credentialsProvider(CREDENTIALS_PROVIDER_CHAIN).build();
    }

    @AfterClass
    public static void tearDownAfterClass() throws Exception {
        if (ecr != null) {
            ecr.deleteRepository(DeleteRepositoryRequest.builder()
                    .repositoryName(REPO_NAME)
                    .build());
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void basicTest() {
        CreateRepositoryResponse result = ecr.createRepository(
                CreateRepositoryRequest.builder()
                        .repositoryName(REPO_NAME)
                        .build());

        Assert.assertNotNull(result.repository());
        Assert.assertEquals(result.repository().repositoryName(), REPO_NAME);
        Assert.assertNotNull(result.repository().repositoryArn());
        Assert.assertNotNull(result.repository().registryId());

        String repoArn = result.repository().repositoryArn();
        String registryId = result.repository().registryId();

        Repository repo = ecr.describeRepositories(DescribeRepositoriesRequest.builder()
                .repositoryNames(REPO_NAME)
                .build())
                .repositories().get(0);

        Assert.assertEquals(repo.registryId(), registryId);
        Assert.assertEquals(repo.repositoryName(), REPO_NAME);
        Assert.assertEquals(repo.repositoryArn(), repoArn);
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Second-leading scorer Eric Gordon didn't play because of a sore groin, but it wouldn't have mattered to the lifeless Clippers on Monday night.
Chris Kaman had 14 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who saw their three- game winning streak end at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets 112-84 at Staples Center.
"We didn't come mentally prepared for this game, and that's why we lost," Kaman said. "We've just got to bring the effort. We didn't have the effort tonight.
The Clippers have lost six in a row to the Hornets at Staples Center and 10 straight overall to New Orleans.
Reserve forward Craig Smith left in the fourth quarter with a cut on his right eye caused by Hilton Armstrong.
Rasual Butler had 14 points against his former Hornets teammates. Ricky Davis also scored 14 points for the Clippers, whose indifferent spacing and passing on offense underlined why they haven't won four in a row since the start of the 2007-08 season.
"We stopped doing the things that have been so good for us so far," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We've been moving the ball and getting good shots for ourselves, but we missed some guys that were open, and didn't share the ball as well.
Chris Paul had 24 points and 10 assists on a sore ankle, Devin Brown scored 25 points and the Hornets bounced back from a blowout loss to the Lakers.
One night after they were routed 104-88 by the defending champions, the Hornets put Peja Stojakovic back in their starting lineup. In fact, they barely resembled the same team. Even after a scare when Paul tweaked his ankle shortly before halftime, New Orleans built a 31-point lead on James Posey's layup at the third-quarter buzzer.
One day after New Orleans coach Byron Scott benched guard Morris Peterson in favor of Brown, Stojakovic replaced Julian Wright. Brown was ill-prepared to guard Kobe Bryant on Sunday, but both changes paid big dividends for the Hornets one night later.


The current NHL lockout has me fascinated.
I'm as interested in seeing another Habs dynasty rise as the next Canadiens fan, but with each passing day, the likelihood of seeing any hockey this year grows more remote. In the midst of this, the reaction of fans is really, really interesting.
I don't know of anyone who is on the side of the owners, who give the impression that they are trying to claw back revenue from the players. Many are on the side of the players, who display themselves as men wanting to play hockey but being prevented by the greediness of owners.
Most fans feel like they're the losers in all this. Some fans protest to the effect that their "right" to watch professional hockey is being impinged upon! But do you suppose – at least in some cases – that the fans are the ones who have brought this on?
A friend of mine hit the nail on the head yesterday when he posted on Facebook that he believes a big part of the problem is idolatry. We idolize players, and even the game itself, such that fans are willing to pay exorbitant prices for seats at hockey games, and pay outrageous prices for beverages and food, all so that we can see, live, an event called Canada's national pastime. Our idolatry (perhaps you consider that a strong term, but I will use it anyway) contributes toward others' greed.
I like hockey as much as the next red-blooded Canadian male, but I will not pay for a ticket to enter an NHL arena, on principle. I don't believe it's good stewardship of what God has given me. Do you suppose that if even the die-hard fans stopped buying tickets, perhaps the players and the owners would get a bit of a reality check?
Whether it's hockey games or concerts or any number of other pleasures in life, we are willing to pay for that which we treasure. Do we treasure these things more than we treasure God? That's idolatry. Simply put, "You must not have any other god but me" (Exodus 20.3, NLT).
Consider who matters most to you in life, and in death. When I die, what is going to matter to me most? If I can die without hockey, I can live without it. How about you?


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text:
Q: JOIN Across 3 tables I am trying to join together 3 tables and potentially retrieve data from any of the columns.
I have a product and a lifestyle and a 'mapping table' that essentially contains references between the 2.
I want to do it properly using joins - but it is proving troublesome. If i use 'WHEREs' it works.
Here it is
This returns more results than I expect - it is probably doing the right thing, just not what I want!
SELECT DISTINCT PROFDESC.*
FROM PROFDESC
INNER JOIN PRODUCT ON PRODFUND.PRODCD = PRODUCT.PRODCD
INNER JOIN PRODFUND ON PRODFUND.PDFDCODE = PROFDESC.PROFREF
WHERE PRODFUND.PDFDTYPE = 2

This works fine but doesn't 'join' the tables.
SELECT DISTINCT PROFDESC.*
FROM PROFDESC, Product, Prodfund
WHERE
PRODFUND.PRODCD = PRODUCT.PRODCD and
PRODFUND.PDFDCODE = PROFDESC.PROFREF
AND PRODFUND.PDFDTYPE = 2;

I believe my first one is literally joining A to B and B to C where as I want the connection to include A to C
any suggestions?

A: You just need to have the tables in the query previously defined. This should work fine.
SELECT DISTINCT PROFDESC.*
FROM PROFDESC
INNER JOIN PRODFUND ON PRODFUND.PDFDCODE = PROFDESC.PROFREF
INNER JOIN PRODUCT ON PRODFUND.PRODCD = PRODUCT.PRODCD
WHERE PRODFUND.PDFDTYPE = 2

A: You should use the correct order when joining
SELECT DISTINCT PROFDESC.*
FROM
    PROFDESC
    INNER JOIN PRODFUND
        ON PROFDESC.PROFREF = PRODFUND.PDFDCODE
    INNER JOIN PRODUCT
        ON PRODFUND.PRODCD = PRODUCT.PRODCD
WHERE
    PRODFUND.PDFDTYPE = 2

But why are you joining to PRODUCT? You are not referring to any columns of it. Does the join somehow narrow the result? If not, drop it:
SELECT DISTINCT PROFDESC.*
FROM
    PROFDESC
    INNER JOIN PRODFUND
        ON PROFDESC.PROFREF = PRODFUND.PDFDCODE
WHERE
    PRODFUND.PDFDTYPE = 2

Maybe the DISTINCT can be dropped then (depending on the cardinality of the join).