text:
Tenuous title, based on nothing more than it being a Supreme Court decision – and it didn't fit my "Chicken Supreme" headline, which will be saved for a decision which deserves it. Big important case though.
I'd previously blogged about the Court of Appeal decision in this case, but now the Supreme Court have decided it once and for all. In RE A (a Child) 2012 (which is weird, because the appeal case was re j, and we all anticipated this being re x)
The judgment is here
Click to access UKSC_2012_0193_Judgment.pdf
You may recall, that the case involved an allegation of a sexual nature being made against a father by a person who wished to remain anonymous. The father wanted to know the details of the referrer, with a view to establishing a case of why this person might make ghastly and untrue allegations against him; and the Court of Appeal had to grapple with the twin concepts of article 6 right to a fair trial, and the broad public interest immunity in people being able to make referrals about child abuse in an anonymous capacity, to remove the risk that proper referrals might not be made if the person wishing to make one was fearful of reprisals, both in and out of Court.
I have put that in a very clumsy manner, let's see how genuinely clever and articulate people do it
1.We are asked in this case to reconcile the irreconcilable. On the one hand, there is the interest of a vulnerable young woman (X) who made an allegation in confidence to the authorities that while she was a child she had been seriously sexually abused by the father of a little girl (A) who is now aged 10. On the other hand we have the interests of that little girl, her mother (M) and her father (F), in having that allegation properly investigated and tested. These interests are not only private to the people involved. There are also public interests, on the one hand, in maintaining the confidentiality of this kind of communication, and, on the other, in the fair and open conduct of legal disputes. On both sides there is a public interest in protecting both children and vulnerable young adults from the risk of harm.
Much better.
The issues in this case of course go much broader and deeper than the case itself, and cut to the heart of how the Court is to tackle allegations which on the face of it are serious and grave but where the primary evidence is from someone who wishes to remain anonymous and does not want to come before the Court and have the primary evidence tested by cross-examination.
From the 'public interest in anonymity' standpoint, a better case could not have come before the Court – the allegations were not to be determined at a fact-finding, the identity of the referrer was known to the Local Authority who were able to notify her and she was able to secure intervenor status and undertake psychological assessments showing how devastating and harmful revealing her identity might be. It must be at the high watermark of cases where the concern about disclosure is significant and real, rather than theoretical and about the principle in a wider sense.
The Supreme Court helpfully set out the positions of the respective parties
13.The positions of the parties are as follows:
(i) Sarah Morgan QC, on behalf of X, resists disclosure on the primary ground that this will violate her right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, contrary to article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Alternatively, the balance between her right to respect for her private life and the rights of the other parties should be struck by the court adopting some form of closed material procedure which would enable the allegations to be tested by a special advocate appointed to protect the parents' interests but without disclosure to the father.
(ii) Paul Storey QC, on behalf of the Children's Guardian, supports disclosure in the interests of A. A's right to respect for her private and family life is engaged, as potentially is her article 3 right to protection from abuse: see Z v United Kingdom (2001) 34 EHRR 97. The allegations cannot be ignored but they cannot be taken into account unless they can be properly investigated.
(iii) The mother is in the same position, but with the additional feature that she knows who X is and believes the principal thrust of her allegations to be true. She understands that it will not be possible to rely upon these unless they can be properly investigated but she will have great difficulty in agreeing that the father should resume unsupervised contact with A unless they are.
(iv) The father also supports disclosure. He might instead have relied on the mother's inability to pursue the allegations without disclosure but he wishes to have them resolved. Not having seen the history of how and when X's allegations were made, he does not accept the judge's conclusion that they were not prompted by the mother.
(v) The local authority now adopt a completely neutral stance as to disclosure. Roger McCarthy QC on their behalf accepts that if the material is not disclosed in these proceedings it would not be possible for the local authority to bring care proceedings to remove A from her mother unless the material could be disclosed in those proceedings. In other words, they accept that they cannot have it both ways and put all the burden of protecting A upon the mother without giving her the material with which to do so.
The law is then set out
14. It is convenient first to look at the principles governing the issue at common law, before considering how these may have been affected by the implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998.
15. The local authority claim public interest immunity for their records relating to X and her allegations. They are doing so because of the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of information given to the authorities responsible for protecting children from abuse. That this is a class of information to which public interest immunity attaches has been established since the decision of the House of Lords in D v National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children [1978] AC 171. That case accorded to people who informed the authorities of allegations of child abuse the same protection as informants to the police and the gaming authorities. It is not the fact that the information is communicated in confidence which attracts the immunity, but the public interest in encouraging members of the public to come forward to help the authorities to protect children. That this may also protect an untruthful or malicious informant is the necessary price to be paid. Although D v National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was concerned with a neighbour who claimed to have witnessed the alleged abuse, rather than a victim, I can see no reason why the same rationale should not also apply to the victims of alleged abuse.
16.That is not, of course, the whole story. The immunity is only the starting point, for without it there is no question that all documentation relevant to the proceedings must be disclosed. Public interest immunity is not absolute. The public interest in maintaining confidentiality must be balanced against the public interest in a fair trial, according to principles which have developed since the landmark case of Conway v Rimmer [1968] AC 910 required the court to strike that balance.
17.If the public interest against disclosure prevails, the decision-maker, whether judge or jury, is not entitled to take the information into account in deciding the result of the litigation. There is no hard and fast rule as to whether the same judge can continue to hear the case. It is well-established that a judge may do so in a criminal case, but then the jury and not the judge are the finders of fact. It may also be possible to do so in a civil case: see Berg v IML London Ltd [2002] 1 WLR 3271. The well-established test of apparent bias will apply: see Porter v Magill [2001] UKHL 67, [2002] 2 AC 357.
18.Are cases about the future care and upbringing of children any different? The whole purpose of such cases is to protect and promote the welfare of any child or children involved. So there are circumstances in which it is possible for the decision-maker to take into account material which has not been disclosed to the parties. As Lord Devlin put it in In re K (Infants) [1965] AC 201, 238, "a principle of judicial inquiry, whether fundamental or not, is only a means to an end. If it can be shown in any particular class of case that the observance of a principle of this sort does not serve the ends of justice, it must be dismissed". He went on, at p 240, to approve the words of Ungoed Thomas J at first instance [1963] Ch 381, at p 387:
"However, where the paramount purpose is the welfare of the infant, the procedure and rules of evidence should serve and certainly not thwart that purpose. . . . In general publicity is vital to the administration of justice. Disclosure to the parties not only enables them to present their case fully but it provides in some degree the advantages of publicity; and it further ensures that the court has the assistance of those parties in arriving at the right decision. So when full disclosure is not made, it should be limited only to the extent necessary to achieve the object of the jurisdiction and no further."
Thus, while there was no absolute right for the mother to see the report made by the Official Solicitor as guardian ad litem for a ward of court, the discretion to refuse it was to be exercised "occasionally and with great caution". Lord Evershed had earlier set the bar extremely high when he said (at p 219) that "a judge should not reach such a conclusion without the relevant disclosure to the party or parent save in rare cases and where he is fully satisfied judicially that real harm to the infant must otherwise ensue" (emphasis supplied).
19. In In re D (Minors)(Adoption Reports: Confidentiality) [1996] AC 593, referred to by the Court of Appeal in this case as the "starting point", Lord Mustill, at p 611, did not accept that Lord Evershed intended those words to be read literally as a standard applicable in every wardship case, let alone in adoption cases which were governed by the Adoption Rules. These then provided that all reports were confidential, but that an individual could inspect any part of such report which referred to him, subject to the court's power to direct otherwise. In Children Act proceedings, Lord Mustill preferred the broader principle enunciated by Glidewell LJ in In re B (A Minor)(Disclosure of Evidence) [1993] Fam 142 at p 155:
"Before ordering that any such evidence be not disclosed to another party, the court will have to consider it in order to satisfy itself that the disclosure of the evidence would be so detrimental to the welfare of the child or children under consideration as to outweigh the normal requirements for a fair trial that all evidence must be disclosed, so that all parties can consider it and if necessary seek to rebut it."
20. Thus Lord Mustill concluded, at p 614, that "the presumption in favour of disclosure is strong indeed, but not so strong that it can be withheld only if the judge is satisfied that real harm to the child must otherwise ensue". He went on, at p 615, to enunciate the principles which have been recited ever since:
(i) It is a fundamental principle of fairness that a party is entitled to the disclosure of all materials which may be taken into account by the court when reaching a decision adverse to that party.
(ii) When deciding whether to direct that a party referred to in a confidential report in adoption proceedings should not be able to inspect the part which refers to him or her, the court should first consider whether disclosure of the material "would involve a real possibility of significant harm to the child".
(iii) If it would, the court should next consider whether the overall interests of the child would benefit from non-disclosure, weighing on the one hand the interest of the child in having the material properly tested, and on the other both the magnitude of the risk that harm will occur and the gravity of the harm if it does occur.
(iv) If the court is satisfied that the interests of the child point towards non-disclosure, the next and final step is for the court to weigh that consideration, and its strength in the circumstances of the case, against the interest of the parent or other party in having an opportunity to see and respond to the material. In the latter regard the court should take into account the importance of the material to the issues in the case.
21.It will thus be seen that these principles are designed to protect the welfare of the child who is the subject of the proceedings, to prevent the proceedings which are there to protect the child being used as an instrument of doing harm to that child. If they were to be applied in this case, it is clear that there is little or no risk of harm to A if the material is disclosed. The risk is if the material is not disclosed and a wrong decision is reached as a result.
22. The principles enunciated by Lord Mustill do not address whether it might be possible in Children Act proceedings to withhold information which is to be taken into account by the court from any of the parties on the ground that disclosure might cause harm to someone other than the subject child. In In re B, above, the proceedings were about a father's contact with his 12-year-old son. His 15-year-old half-sister had made serious allegations of sexual abuse against her stepfather which the mother wanted the court to take into account without
disclosing them to the father. As Glidewell LJ pointed out, at p 156, the order was sought, mainly if not entirely, for the protection of the half-sister and it was the son's welfare which was the court's paramount consideration. Even if it were suggested that in some way the son might be harmed by disclosure (though the suggestion was rather that having to keep his sister's allegations secret would be harmful to him), that possibility had to be weighed against the grave injustice which would result from non-disclosure. So even in a case where the third party was a child, it was the interests of the subject child which might have justified non-disclosure.
23.We therefore have to look outside those authorities for the source of any power to withhold such information in the interests of a third party. As the common law stands at present, in the absence of a statutory power to do so, the choice is between the case going ahead without the court taking account of this material at all and disclosing it to the parties.
The Court went on to consider the human rights implications, and chief amonst these was whether there were article 3 and article 8 rights attaching to the referrer who wished to be anonymous, to be weighed against the article 6 rights of the parents facing allegations about which they did not have full information
24.To what extent, if at all, are these principles affected by the Human Rights Act 1998? In A Local Authority v A [2009] EWCA Civ 1057, [2010] 2 FLR 1757, the Court of Appeal accepted that the principles of non-disclosure might now have to be extended to other people whose Convention rights might be violated by disclosure.
25.It is common ground that several Convention rights are, or may be, in play in this case. There are the article 6 rights of all three parties to the proceedings, A, M and F, to have a fair trial in the determination of their civil rights. The right to a fair trial is absolute but the question of what is fair may depend upon the circumstances of the case. There are the article 8 rights of A, M and F to respect for their private and family lives. There is also the article 8 right of X to respect for her private life. Article 8 rights are qualified and can be interfered with if it is necessary in a democratic society in order to protect the rights of others.
26.However, Miss Morgan on behalf of X has relied principally (as did the mother in A Local Authority v A) upon her article 3 right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment. Requiring X to give evidence in person would, she argues, amount to treatment for this purpose, but so too would the act of disclosure because of the effect that it would have upon X. Dr W was specifically asked to distinguish between the effect of disclosure and the effect of giving evidence (see para 6(vi) above). She replied that disclosure alone would potentially be detrimental to her health. She pointed out that her condition had deteriorated considerably recently, to such an extent as to be life-threatening. Disclosure would
inevitably subject her to further stress. There was therefore a significant risk that exposure to further psychological stress would put her at risk of further episodes of illness. That, argues Miss Morgan, is sufficient to bring the effects of the treatment up to the high threshold of severity required by article 3. X has therefore an absolute right not to be subjected to it.
27.The other parties to these proceedings question whether mere disclosure can amount to treatment within the meaning of article 3. They also support the conclusion of the Court of Appeal that the effects of disclosure alone would not reach the minimum level of severity required to violate article 3. Indeed, Peter Jackson J, while concluding that requiring X to give evidence would probably reach that high threshold, did not hold that disclosure alone would do so. He did not say that it would not, but it is clear, not least from the questions he asked of Dr W, that he was fully alive to the distinction between the effects of disclosure and the effects of giving evidence.
28.If her argument on article 3 is not accepted, Miss Morgan's secondary case on behalf of X is that the invasion of her private life which would result from disclosure of this material in these proceedings is so grave that it would be disproportionate to disclose it. The court should therefore contemplate some form of closed material procedure, which would enable the material to be put before the court and tested, without disclosing either her identity or the details to the other parties.
That suggestion is broadly what had happened in the original High Court case, the Judge had seen the information and determined that it was not something on which a finding of fact hearing was required, and put it out of his mind – one major issue for the Court of Appeal was whether the Judge who had undertaken that process and set the information out of his mind could genuinely do so and was in a position to conduct the remainder of the case without the parties having the impression that evidence not seen by them might be influencing him in some way.
29.If we were dealing with the common law principles alone, the answer would be clear. There is an important public interest in preserving the confidence of people who come forward with allegations of child abuse. The system depends upon the public as its eyes and ears. The social workers cannot be everywhere. The public should be encouraged to take an interest in the welfare of the children in their neighbourhoods. It is part of responsible citizenship to do so. And that includes victims of historic child abuse who have information about the risks to which other children may now be exposed.
30.But many of these informants will not be required to give evidence in order to prove a case, whether in criminal or care proceedings, against the perpetrators of any abuse. Their information will simply trigger an investigation from which other evidence will emerge. Their confidence can be preserved without harming others. In this case, however, that is simply not possible. We do not know whether A is at risk of harm from her father. But we do know of allegations, which some professionals think credible and which would, at the very least, raise the serious
possibility of such a risk. Those allegations have to be properly investigated and tested so that A can either be protected from any risk of harm which her father may present to her or can resume her normal relationship with him. That simply cannot be done without disclosing to the parents and to the Children's Guardian the identity of X and the detail and history of the allegations which she has made. The mother can have no basis for seeking to vary the arrangements for A to have contact with her father unless this is done. If this were an ordinary public interest immunity claim, therefore, there would be no question where the balance of public interest would lie.
31.It is, of course, possible that the harm done to an informant by disclosing her identity and the details of her allegations may be so severe as to amount to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of article 3. The evidence is that X suffers from a physical illness which is at times life-threatening and that her condition deteriorates in response to stress. The father does himself no credit by belittling this. There was some discussion about whether we were here concerned with the duty of the state to take positive steps to protect her from harm (under the principles explained in Osman v United Kingdom (1998) 29 EHRR 245) or with the duty of the state to refrain from subjecting her to harm. As we are here considering the actions of the state – whether the state should disclose to others information which she gave it in confidence and, in future, whether the state should compel her to give evidence in these proceedings – I have no doubt that we are here concerned with the primary, negative, duty of the state to avoid subjecting her to inhuman treatment.
32.However, when considering what treatment is sufficiently severe to reach the high threshold required for a violation of article 3, the European Court of Human Rights has consistently said that this "depends on all the circumstances of the case, such as the nature and context of the treatment, the manner and method of its execution, its duration, its physical or mental effects and, in some instances, the sex, age and state of health of the victim": see, for example, Kudla v Poland (2000) 35 EHRR 198, para 91. The court has also stressed that it must go beyond "that inevitable element of suffering or humiliation connected with a given form of legitimate treatment or punishment": para 92. Thus the legitimate objective of the state in subjecting a person to a particular form of treatment is relevant. A well-known example is medical treatment, which may well be experienced as degrading by a patient who is subjected to it against his will. However, "A measure which is therapeutically necessary from the point of view of established principles of medicine cannot in principle be regarded as inhuman and degrading": Juhnke v Turkey (2008) 49 EHRR 534, para 71, citing Herczegfalvy v Austria (1992) 15 EHRR 437, para 82. Obviously, the ends do not justify the means. But the context in which treatment takes place affects the severity of its impact. The context here is not only that the state is acting in support of some important public interests; it is also that X is currently under the specialist care of a consultant physician and a
consultant psychiatrist, who will no doubt do their utmost to mitigate any further suffering which disclosure may cause her. I conclude therefore, in agreement with the Court of Appeal, that to disclose these records to the parties in this case will not violate her rights under article 3 of the Convention.
33.However, that may not be the end of the matter, for to order disclosure in this case would undoubtedly be an interference with X's right to respect for her private life. She revealed what, if true, would be some very private and sensitive information to the authorities in the expectation that it would not be revealed to others. She has acquiesced in its disclosure to her legal advisers and to the court in these proceedings, but that can scarcely amount to a waiver of her rights. She had no choice. Clearly, her rights are in conflict with the rights of every other party to these proceedings. Protecting their rights is a legitimate aim. But the means chosen have to be proportionate. Is there, therefore, some means, short of full disclosure, of protecting their rights?
The Supreme Court here are agonising with the irresistable force of not wanting to cause harm to a vulnerable individual who made an allegation in an expectation of anonymity, and the immovable object of article 6 and the right to a fair trial. They have a quick look at whether they can avoid the irresistable force hitting the immovable object by digging a hole to divert the path. Will it work?
34.It is in this context that it has been suggested that the court might adopt some form of closed material procedure, in which full disclosure was made to a special advocate appointed to protect the parents' interests, but not to the father himself. It faces two formidable difficulties. The first is that this Court has held that there is no power to adopt such a procedure in ordinary civil proceedings: Al Rawi v Security Service (JUSTICE intervening) [2011] UKSC 34, [2012] 1 AC 531. That case can be distinguished on the ground that it was the fair trial rights of the state that were in issue, and the state does not enjoy Convention rights. It is arguable that a greater latitude may be allowed in children cases where the child's welfare is the court's paramount concern. But the arguments against making such an inroad into the normal principles of a fair trial remain very powerful. The second difficulty lies in the deficiencies of any closed material procedure in a case such as this. We have arrived at a much better understanding of those difficulties in the course of the control order cases, culminating in Secretary of State for the Home Department v AF (No 3) [2009] UKHL 28, [2010] 2 AC 269. The essential requirement of any fair procedure is that the person who stands to lose his rights has an opportunity effectively to challenge the essence of the case against him. There may be cases in which this can be done by offering him a "gist" of the allegations and appointing a special advocate to scrutinise the whole of the material deployed against him. In a case such as this, however, it is not possible effectively to challenge the allegations without knowing where, when and how the abuse is alleged to have taken place. From this information it is inevitable that X's identity will be revealed. Even if it were theoretically possible to devise some form of closed material procedure, therefore, it would not meet the minimum requirements of a fair hearing in this case.
35.The only possible conclusion is that the family life and fair trial rights of all three parties to these proceedings are a sufficient justification for the interference
with the privacy rights of X. Put the other way round, X's privacy rights are not a sufficient justification for the grave compromise of the fair trial and family life rights of the parties which non-disclosure would entail.
And they therefore have to conclude that the immovable object of article 6 is indeed immovable, and the irresistable force of articles 3 and 8 and PII will just have to be resisted. The parents have a right to see the details of the referrer.
They do go on to assess how the article 3 and 8 rights might be massaged a bit, and that disclosure of the referral and identity of the referrer does not necessarily mean the referrer giving evidence, that would be a separate issue as to whether she was fit to do so.
The cynic in me suggests that we might well see an end to the days when the Local Authority took the names of the referrer who wished to be anonymous. That obviously sidesteps any issue of disclosure of their identity. But Local Authorities will certainly need to arrive at a proper script in the light of this case for what is told to people who ring up wanting to make a referral and who wish to be anonymous.
Because if they are told now "It's okay, your name will be kept out of it and the family won't know it was you" then it seems to me that there's a prospect of satellite litigation about whether the LA properly informed them of the consequences of their action.
Additionally, it is not clear to me whether the LA are supposed to cough up the name and just waive PII (which poses some, but not insurmountable problems in PII law), or whether they place the matter before the Court and for the Court to order that the interest of justice override PII, or whether the procedure here where the referrer get intervenor status and a chance to argue article 3 and article 8 is the right one.
One thing is for sure, seeing the words "Anonymous referral" in a social work chronology is now not the end of the story, but the start of a whole new diverting chapter of litigation.


text:
During the war of 1812-14, between Great Britain and the United States, the weak Spanish Governor of Florida—for Florida was then Spanish territory—permitted the British to make Pensacola their base of operations against us. This was a gross outrage, as we were at peace with Spain at the time, and General Jackson, acting on his own responsibility, invaded Florida in retaliation.
Among the British at that time was an eccentric Irish officer, Colonel Edward Nichols, who enlisted and tried to make soldiers of a large number of the Seminole Indians. In 1815, after the war was over, Colonel Nichols again visited the Seminoles, who were disposed to be hostile to the United States, as Colonel Nichols himself was, and made an astonishing treaty with them, in which an alliance, offensive and defensive, between Great Britain and the Seminoles, was agreed upon. We had made peace with Great Britain a few months before, and yet this ridiculous Irish colonel signed a treaty binding Great Britain to fight us whenever the Seminoles in the Spanish territory of Florida should see fit to make a war! If this extraordinary performance had been all, it would not have mattered so much, for the British government refused to ratify the treaty; but it was not all. Colonel Nichols, as if determined to give us as much trouble as he could, built a strong fortress on the Appalachicola River, and gave it to his friends the Seminoles, naming it "The British Post on the Appalachicola," where the British had not the least right to have any post whatever. Situated on a high bluff, with flanks securely guarded by the river on one side and a swamp on the other, this fort, properly defended, was capable of resisting the assaults of almost any force that could approach it; and Colonel Nichols was determined that it should be properly defended, and should be a constant menace and source of danger to the United States. He armed it with one 32-pounder cannon, three 24-pounders, and eight other guns. In the matter of small-arms he was even more liberal. He supplied the fort with 2500 muskets, 500 carbines, 400 pistols, and 500 swords. In the magazines he stored 300 quarter casks of rifle powder and 763 barrels of ordinary gunpowder.
When Colonel Nichols went away, his Seminoles soon wandered off, leaving the fort without a garrison. This gave an opportunity to a negro bandit and desperado named Garçon to seize the place, which he did, gathering about him a large band of runaway negroes, Choctaw Indians, and other lawless persons, whom he organized into a strong company of robbers. Garçon made the fort his stronghold, and began to plunder the country round about as thoroughly as any robber baron or Italian bandit ever did, sometimes venturing across the border into the United States.
All this was so annoying and so threatening to our frontier settlements in Georgia, that General Jackson demanded of the Spanish authorities that they should reduce the place; and they would have been glad enough to do so, probably, if it had been possible, because the banditti plundered Spanish as well as other settlements. But the Spanish governor had no force at command, and could do nothing, and so the fort remained, a standing menace to the American borders.
Matters were in this position in the spring of 1816, when General Gaines was sent to fortify our frontier at the point where the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers unite to form the Appalachicola....

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
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text:
The world turns cold and gray and pointless. Time is a meaningless river.
Body feels distant as if the spirit that animated it grew small and all but vanished in its caverns and streams.
Footsteps close by. Bond around wrists is no more. Ground rushes up but something intercepts the fall. Being lifted off the ground, swaying motion, carried. Eyes look but no one watches through them.
Body has become meat.
More meaningless river. Spirit climbs out of the cavern, makes a passing glance. Body feels empty, drained. Had it eaten? Had it slept? Don't know. And don't care.
Care for nothing.
Occasionally, a strange noise, like whispers on a wind. The spirit makes the climb, looks vaguely for it but it is gone before source can be found. It does not matter anyway. To be, to exist, is a wasteland, empty of thoughts and desires. Pointless.
Fades into nothingness.
The spirit wanders a barren landscape. Withered gray trees and dried putrid rivers mar the vision. The land seems familiar, something once called home.
It's not home anymore. Life no longer possible here.
Land rumbles and quakes. A chasm opens up in the ground, yawns beneath him. Terror roars. Grabs the edge of the chasm and holds with the strength didn't know existed. No use. Grip begins to slip, slides deeper into the chasm, away from the sky.
He woke with a howl. Around him, the darkness of a hut.
"Can you hear me?" a voice said.
"I'm not deaf," he said. Face felt swollen and the air refused to go through the nose. Voice sounded muffled.
"You didn't respond until now." Grower held up a clay cup. "Water."
He was parched, he knew that. He drank but there was no pleasure, no relief as water trickled down the throat. Didn't care about being thirsty or hungry. All he wanted was to not be anymore.
"You went against the edict knowingly," Grower said. "You knew there would be chastisement when you got back."
Chastisement? The word sickened him. "You call this chastisement?" He raised his left hand, his throwing hand. Pain shot through. He quickly lowered it.
"He does it to keep us a tribe," Grower said, his voice small. "So that we can go on."
"Flat Face is insane," Niomir said. "What else do you call a man who punishes a hunter for making meat for the tribe?"
"He wasn't punishing you." The words were preposterous. He thought laughter would be appropriate but forgot how it's done. "If this is his way of rewarding good work…"
"It wasn't punishment for you," Grower said. "It was punishment for your brother."
Paused. "For what?"
"For putting a spear in your hand. No Runt may carry weapons. Your brother went against that."
"I forced him."
"I know that," Grower said. "Flat Flace knows that. But willingly or not, your brother acted against the edict. This is why Flat Face forced him into hurting you. By making him do this, he severed the last bond you two had between you. You will never trust your brother again after this."
Niomir stared. He turned away when a bowl of soup of herbs and grass seeds came closer.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Leave me."
"You haven't eaten anything in days. You need to eat if you want to keep going."
"I don't want to keep going."
Grower did not reply. After a while, he left him be.
Niomir stared into his left hand. It was wrapped in thick bandages but he could clearly see the thumb of his throwing hand was gone.
It's all in the thumb. That's what I tried to teach him about throwing. He robbed me of the chance of ever throwing a spear again.
"You must eat." Grower's voice was kind but there was urgency in it.
He didn't care. Food was a pointless thing.
"One finger does not mean your entire life is forfeit," Norgilam said. "Spring will soon be here. Life will return to the Woodland. You will feel better when the birds return and water flows once again. But you have to survive until then."
Another mouthful of the dribble neared his mouth, seeking entrance. Niomir turned away in revulsion.
The world keeps spinning as if nothing is changed. The spirits tell me this is the natural state. If this is considered natural, I want no part of it. Not this valley, not this world, not this life.
"We all need to adapt in order to survive," Grower was saying. "You are no different than any of us, even if you'd like to be."
Something stirred in Niomir's mind. "But I am different than you," he said quietly. "All of you. Everyone in this tribe is afraid."
"Of Flat Face?"
"No. All of you are afraid, including Flat Face." Niomir felt his mind quicken with these words. The naked truth revealed itself before him. "At first I thought he was afraid of other tribes coming and taking our food. But they wouldn't want to eat the seeds any more than our own tribesmen would. Flat Face knows this but he still refuses to see that which is in front of him. And you…" Niomir's gaze flicked at Grower. "It's easier for you to put yourself under Flat Face's rod and endure punishment than to imagine a different way of living. You fear change and an unknown future more than you fear the lash. That's why you discarded your own elder status and joined the Runts. I had always wondered why the spirits proscribe to be two elders in charge of a tribe. Now I know why: to keep one another in check. You were the only one with the authority to resist him. Instead of confronting him, you submitted to his will and gave him unopposed authority. Unchecked, his paranoia grew and polluted the entire tribe."
Silence went on unopposed. Grower gazed into the distance, the bowl of runny soup in his hands forgotten.
"Our nature has always been about duality," Niomir said. "We are offspring of a handful of spirits who left the sky and draped themselves into flesh that forms all creatures. We are the only beings in existence that have both Sky-kin and Flesh-kin. Now, fear has turned us into gnats we squash beneath our feet. That is what Flat Face's vision has turned us into. He'd taken the Sky out of us."
"I think you're right," Grower murmured after what seemed an eternity. "Whatever celestial essence we had in us is long gone. We are creatures of the flesh now, nothing more. And that is precisely why we need to adapt to the new situation, become something else than we were yesterday. Or we will be undone."
Niomir turned away. Grower was afraid. Afraid to do anything but listen to Flat Face's dogma of fear.
He'd dreamed of roasted meat. The smell of it saturated his awareness. It seemed the smell alone would be enough to fill his stomach. His insides roiled violently. The smell grew so potent it wrenched him into consciousness. The familiar twilight of the hut surrounded him, the moldy mats and the clammy air.
He was awake. And yet the smell persisted.
Next to him lay a steaming piece of meat.
Real meat. Where did it come from?
He realized the hut wasn't empty. Someone stood next to him, unmoving like a rock. At first he thought it was Grower.
Niomir felt the hair on the back of his neck tingle. It wasn't Grower.
It was Flat Face.
He stood above Niomir, peering at him with that remorseless gaze. Niomir glanced his way, looked at the meat. It was a roasted heart. The boar's heart. His fingers twitched and his eyes grasped for it, his mouth watering…
But it was brought by Flat Face.
Still, Flat Face stared at him, saying nothing.
"Am I suppose to express gratitude?" Niomir asked. His voice was hoarse.
"That is not necessary," Flat Face said.
Again, Niomir's eyes wandered towards the steaming heart. "I swore to protect the tribe," he said. "I did what I thought was right."
"You don't get to decide what is best for the tribe," Flat Face said. "I do."
"You are hurting the tribe, not saving it," Niomir said. "I brought them food when no one else could."
"And you still fail to see why this was strictly forbidden to you."
Niomir remained silent. It was strange but Flat Face wanted to explain his thoughts to him. Niomir could not fathom why but he found himself raptly listening.
"The tribe is more than bodies and mouths," Flat Face spoke. "What holds us together… What binds us into a tribe… Is immaterial as the spirits which we ask for guidance. Yet it is as fragile as our bodies. It cannot be harmed by cold or crushed by a rock, but it can be hurt and it can be killed. You were hurting the tribe."
"And you?" Niomir said. "What were you doing except hurting the tribe?"
"The flesh is selfish," said Flat Face. "In times of hardship, it wants us to forget what it means to be a tribe. If this happens… If we forget… Then we stop being the spawn of heaven. On that day, we turn into beasts. Your hunting skills might have fed our bellies but it made the soul of the tribe bleed. It I refused to have you punished, others would deem the edict unnecessary to follow. And that would've been the end of us."
Niomir realized Flat Face spoke with ardent emotion. He cared deeply about what he'd just said.
"Is this your way of asking for my forgiveness?" Niomir said.
"I'm here to do no such thing," Flat Face said. The naked emotion that was visible a moment before was gone behind the familiar icy mask. "You willingly acted against the edict and were treated with accordingly. I'm here to uphold another part of that edict: 'The heart of the kill goes to the one that made the kill.'"
Niomir glanced at the boar's heart again. He swallowed hard. "I'd rather starve than accept that from you," he said.
"That is your choice to make," Flat Face said. "It was also your choice to expose yourself to danger. But to take a spear and make meat when you were strictly forbidden… That is something I will not tolerate. That is something the spirits will not tolerate."
"Have no fear, you have succeeded. I am no longer useful to you." Niomir raised his maimed hand, lowered it quickly once the pain erupted.
"You can still be of use to the tribe." From any other person, those words could have been considered encouraing. From Flat Face, they sounded utterly sinister.
"You hate me," Niomir said. "Hate me for the same reason Setimika and others hates me."
Flat Face shook his made minutely. "It is not who or what you are that vexes me. It is what you represent to the tribe. You are a dissentious seed, one that deems your own judgment above those of mine, your elder and superior. If you will not do as you're told, it is my task to break your resolve… or break you in the process. Either way, you will submit to my will."
Niomir stared at him, unflinching. Flat Face replied with his icy gaze. "You're thinking of fleeing," Flat Face said. It was not a question.
"You want to put me to use but you cannot have me out there if you're worried about me fleeing."
"I will have you watched," Flat Face said.
"And what will you do if I try to run?"
Flat Face's features were dead as stone. "You still have seven fingers."
Niomir felt the cold cut into his soul. He could withstand starvation, beatings and even lashes on his bare back, but his fingers…


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Where is consensus on robotics for orthopaedics ? Is it the right candidate for a standard of care?
- A growing installed based and a strong commitments from the Majors
- Surgeons needs and real expectations
- Are Augmented Realty or Virtual Realty the right candidates for mass market and standard of care ?
- Other affordable and efficient solutions to answer better the surgeon needs
Sébastien HENRY has over 20 years of experience in the orthopedic device industry, with companies like Orthosoft/Zimmer CAS in Europe and North-America, and a focus on innovative surgical solutions for implant surgeries . He created OneFit Medical, which develops and markets 3D planning software and customized guides distributed by about twenty implant manufacturers.
He joined EOS imaging as VP Advanced Orthopedic Solutions when OneFit Medical integrated the group. He's now Founder and CEO at Pixee Medical, a company dedicated to augmented reality solutions for orthopedic.


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Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 | 2:08 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
It is no surprise that there is fierce competition among metropolitan areas nationwide for a piece of the $8 billion in federal economic stimulus money that has been earmarked for high-speed rail development. Americans sick of sitting in bumper-to-bumper, exhaust-belching highway traffic are starved for more efficient transportation.
The Federal Railroad Administration, which will evaluate the competing proposals and distribute the money, has a tough task ahead. But we believe a new study by the Brookings Institution, a Washington public policy think tank, makes a strong case that a significant portion of that money should go toward high-speed rail between Las Vegas and Southern California.
As reported Thursday by J. Patrick Coolican in the Las Vegas Sun, the study found that a 229-mile corridor connecting Las Vegas with Los Angeles and neighboring communities is the nation's second-busiest route for short-haul airplane travel. Among the nation's air routes that are less than 400 miles, only the Southern California-to-Bay Area connection had more passengers than the 3.7 million who traveled between Las Vegas and Southern California over a one-year period through March.
The significance of these findings is that competition for the high-speed rail funding is limited to corridors that are no longer than 600 miles. The fact that so many people take the short flight from Southern California to Las Vegas suggests that a well-designed, fast train connecting those two metropolitan areas could be wildly popular.
That is why we have been so enthusiastic about a proposal to build a magnetic levitation train from Las Vegas to Anaheim, Calif., which would carry passengers at speeds of 300 mph — even over the congested Cajon Pass along Interstate 15.
Based on the Brookings study, we believe the railroad agency would be making a wise investment by selecting the proposed maglev project to receive some of the stimulus funding. That would help make Southern Nevada an important high-speed rail hub and fulfill President Barack Obama's vision of an environmentally friendly transportation option that would help foster economic development.


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December 13
EPA Helpdesk Webinar 2: Opportunities for European SMEs in Japan's government procurement market
What additional opportunities will the EPA offer to European SMEs?
The EU-Japan Economic partnership Agreement (EPA), expected to come into force in 2019, will give European companies additional opportunities in Japan's government or public procurement market. While European companies already have enjoyed access to Japanese government contracts under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), the EPA builds upon the GPA and gives European companies additional access to procurement by Japanese government entities and extra assurances to compete with Japanese companies on a level playing field.
This webinar is part of a series of webinars by the EU-Japan EPA Helpdesk. Each webinar will address a different topic or sector and will look at the changes the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement will make and the opportunities it will create. Each webinar will be accompanied by a factsheet and a practical guide. For more information on the EPA Helpdesk please click here.
The webinar was targeted to European SMEs seeking to understand and benefit from the EU-Japan EPA.
Date of webinar: 13 December 2018
Topics covered:
- Understand what the added benefits are from the EPA
- Access information regarding procurement opportunities in Japan
- The process of government procurement works in Japan
- To prepare for participation in government procurement in Japan
Speakers: Lyckle Griek, Project-manager, EU-Japan Centre - Japan Tax & Public Procurement Helpdesk.
Organiser: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation - Brussels Office


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How do you see the world? Cup half-full, half-empty, or a bit of both? And what if someone does something really annoying or thoughtless — are you immediately angry?
While most of us cannot stop our immediate reaction of being angry, frustrated or resentful, it is very likely that we can "get over it." In other words, you can choose to not stay angry or not keep up your resentment. It's all about choosing the lens through which you see the world.
In The Way We're Working Isn't Working, Tony Schwartz offers many valuable insights about what individuals need in order perform, and he suggests that corporations should be systematically meeting those needs to energize and inspire their employees to bring their best selves to work. In the chapter titled "The Facts and the Stories We Tell" he offers three lenses that we can choose to see the world from: reflective, reverse and the long lens.
The Reflective Lens
The reflective lens offers a way of looking at ourselves. At work, perhaps your department failed to meet its goals. While I'm not suggesting anyone shirk their responsibilities, I agree with the two questions that Schwartz says we should ask: 1. What are the facts? and 2. What is the story I'm telling myself? So, what are the facts behind the missed target? And then beyond the facts, try to uncover what the story is — are you taking blame or being self-critical where it is not warranted? Or is it the opposite, and you are trying to shift the attention and not take your share of the responsibility?
At home, maybe you forgot to pick up your son from school, arriving 30 minutes late (again) or you didn't get home in time to make dinner like you said you would. The story you tell yourself (about being a good/bad parent or partner) will change your energy levels and your perspective. If you look at what happened and notice a recurring pattern (facts), and notice that you are always making excuses (story) then you can decide what to do. Or maybe it's just not possible for you to get home in time to cook and you can have an honest conversation about what's possible. No matter the situation, it starts from understanding that there are facts, and then there are stories that we tell ourselves. It's about reflecting and knowing whether we are seeing a reality or are we seeing a distorted version?
The Reverse Lens
Reverse is looking at a situation through another's eyes. If you're on the sales team, can you see it from the perspective of the customer? Or if you're in sales and battling with the production team to meet the needs of your client, can you see it from their perspective?
Or maybe it's closer to home and your partner isn't helping out around the house — rather than jump to conclusions, perhaps you could try and find out what's going on for him or her, or if you don't want to ask, at the very least you could try to imagine what someone else's life might be like.
What will you get from this? You might find some gratitude for how hard someone else is working. If you see how hard their job is, you might even show a little appreciation. And with the gratitude, you might find yourself a little less angry. And so goes the cycle. But it can be more than just a tool to help us feel grateful — it can also help you to feel less angry at someone, be more productive (because you've shelved your anger) and potentially work better.
The Long Lens
The long lens takes the long term view and can be very valuable in grim scenarios. In the case, the question to ask is what might be learned from this situation — it's a way of looking at the silver lining.
A client of mine, we'll call her Jane, was in a demanding job — actually it was more like overwhelming. She was given a job formerly handled by three people and told to "figure it out." Her remote manager offered some support (practical and emotional) for a couple of weeks, but then Jane was on her own. In our coaching sessions we explored a variety of options: asking for more help, working more effectively, meditating and exercising as sources of energy, and working even longer hours until there was light at the end of the tunnel. None of these were enough and over several months the situation never eased. We also discussed whether it was time to look for another job but Jane decided to stay in her job for several reasons, primarily because she didn't want to be job hopping too often.
In this grim scenario, the silver lining for Jane was:
- recognizing that she was gaining some invaluable work experience (real skills were being developed)
- gaining some personal insights (her depth of commitment, her work ethic and her ability to work really hard)
- knowing there would be an end — for Jane, getting through 12+hour days and weekend work, while never feeling like she was making any headway was disheartening and exhausting to say the least. But it was never a "forever" – it was only until the timing was right for her to leave.
In Jane's case, and in many overwhelming situations, the best perspective and the one that might provide a little boost to morale, is knowing that the state is impermanent — this too shall pass.
I'd like to think that the long lens is not needed very often — for many of us it is not, but I think it's needed for more people than we think. It's a good reminder to me to use all of my lenses — reflecting on facts and the stories I tell myself, thinking about others and what might be going on for them, and then if I cannot see any short term change to a tough situation, take the long lens and know that this will pass. Our reality is very much what we make of it. It's the classic glass half-full or half-empty dichotomy. I choose the glass half-full, and I'll be looking at my glass from all three lenses.
I am always happy to hear from you, with any insights from my writings, or just to connect. You can reach me through my about page or find me on LinkedIn.


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Interesting Things to Know
Apple makes big leap into the finance industry
Apple's newly designed MacBook Air stole the show at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (AWDC) back in June, but the most important announcement may have been Apple's intention to get directly involved in finance and lending with Apple Pay Later.
The tech giant already runs a payment platform called Apple Pay, which allows users to use their smartphone as a wallet and debit card. Simply scan your phone, and you can quickly make payments. However, Apple Pay leans on traditional debit and credit cards. Then there's the Apple Card credit card, but that's run by Goldman Sachs.
With Apple Pay Later, Apple will directly extend credit to qualified customers. You can buy an Apple product – that shiny new MacBook Air or the next-generation iPhone – and then pay it off in installments. For now, Apple's model will break the payment down into four equal parts. Apple itself will assume the risks of lending.
As of June, Apple was the most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of approximately $2.2 trillion. And at one point, Apple's market cap approached a whopping $3 trillion. To put that in perspective, Italy's gross domestic product has hovered around $2 trillion over the past few years. Apple also has more than $50 billion in cash, enough to buy Ford Motor Company outright.
The Apple Pay Later announcement created some waves but wasn't particularly surprising. Cash in hand is great for consumers, but when it comes to businesses, investors want to see money invested, not wasting away. Apple has been aggressively looking for new areas to expand into and has also been handing out dividends to reward investors. Apple Pay Later marks another aggressive move — one investors will watch closely.
Interesting Things to Know
The power of a little humility
If you want to become happier and more resilient against life's many trials, there's a simple (though not always easy) long-term formula: Be humble.
Humility is about understanding our own strengths and weaknesses and keeping things in perspective.
The psychologist Everett Worthington described it as "the quiet virtue" and breaks it down into three core elements: accurate self-perception, modest self-portrayal, and other-oriented relational stance.
But maybe C.S. Lewis described it best: Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
In addition to general humility as a virtue, Worthington outlined sub-types like intellectual humility and cultural humility.
A truly humble person acknowledges and accepts their strengths and limitations without shame or judgment. Instead of using superficial measures like money or possessions to assess their own value, their sense of self-worth comes from within — a trait that helps them see the intrinsic value of others, too. Humility allows us to learn and grow and treat obstacles as opportunities.
Humility isn't just a trait, it's a practice. Explore your strengths and weaknesses, own your imperfections (and quit spending your life trying to hide them), recognize that you're part of the big picture, and be open to learning.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, "It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err."
Interesting Things to Know
Moose hunting: 3 expert tips
Do you love moose hunting but don't always get the results you want? Here are three expert tips to improve your chances of success.
1. Don't always use the same calls. Do you have a set of calls you frequently use because you think they'll get you the best outcome? You may be scaring off your targets. You must adapt to the hunting season, location and conditions. For example, in an area where moose communicate discreetly, a vigorous call may be too aggressive and invasive.
2. Don't neglect your physical fitness. It can be frustrating to let a magnificent male go because you don't think you have it in you to climb the mountain where you spotted him. To effectively track moose in the woods, a little pre-season training is essential to build your muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
3. Don't lack discretion. If you don't want to get spotted by a moose, don't stand in bright, open spaces or wear clothes that smell like food. Additionally, drinking from a plastic water bottle that contracts with a crackling sound as you sip will eliminate the element of surprise.
When hunting, it's crucial to be vigilant and pay attention to minor details.
Interesting Things to Know
Selecting the right configuration to future-proof your laptop
Selecting the right computer can be a difficult task. There are dozens of different models, but each model often comes in several different variations. No matter what laptop you buy, you're likely spending hundreds of dollars, so you'll want a computer that will last for years to come. Wondering how to future-proof your laptop? We got you covered.
First, there's the processor. If you plan to buy a PC laptop, you'll want a computer with a recent Intel i Series or AMD Ryzen processor. These processor lines offer enough power for most users. Sometimes you'll see companies offering cheap laptops with mobile chips, but these basic computers often struggle even with simple tasks.
If you're a fan of Apple and need a laptop for basic use, it's hard to go wrong. All current generation Mac laptops offer at least 8GB of RAM, powerful "M" processors, and at least 256 GB of storage space. Right now, Apple's in-house M CPUs rank among the most powerful processors around.
8GB RAM is enough for basic use, but 16GB is far more future-proof. And whether you use a PC or Apple laptop, if you're going to edit photos and videos, you'll want at least 16GB of RAM. Editing software uses a lot of RAM; if you only have 8GB, your computer may freeze up or crash.
Then there's storage space. Most folks will need an SSD with at least 256GB of space. Some computers come with just 64GB or 128GB. If you're storing video games, photos, or videos, you will use those gigabytes up very quickly.
Also, many budget laptops feature low-resolution 1366 x 768 screens. These displays look pixelated and can be hard on the eyes. You'll want a Full HD (FHD) screen with at least 1920 x 1080. You could also get a UHD screen with 4K or 3.5K resolution. However, you'll have to sacrifice battery life.
Interesting Things to Know
Return of the flip phone: Are they worth the premium?
For many years, foldable flip mobile phones were common. Then came the iPhone, and flat tablet-style phones have been all the rage ever since.
Flip phones offered some advantages, however. While folded up, they kept the screen protected and the footprint compact. Now, folding phones are making a bit of a comeback. But make no mistake, modern flip phones are far from retro.
The typical smartphone screen is manufactured from multiple layers of inflexible glass. You'd shatter the screen if you tried to fold such a phone. Early foldable phones got around the inflexibility of glass by using polymers or plastics. Plastic can be very flexible, but it's also prone to scratches — say, from the keys in your pocket. Hence why, smartphones typically use glass screens.
In 2020, Samsung debuted the Galaxy Z Flip, which uses a very thin glass screen. Scientists figured out that the right types of glass could actually be bent and thus folded without shattering.
However, the glass layer must be very thin for this to work.
Further, old LCD screens use backlighting, meaning bulbs are behind the screen. These bulbs can't be folded. However, many smartphones now use organic LED (OLED) screens, which aren't backlit. Instead, the organic materials themselves light up once electricity passes through.
However, if you want a modern folding phone, expect to pay a premium. Folding phones typically cost at least a few hundred more than tablet phones with similar specs. That said, folding phones offer more screen space while still maintaining a smaller footprint. While folded up, the screen remains protected from coins, keys, and other hazards. So is a folding phone worth it? Ultimately, that's up to the consumer, but these phones do offer considerable advantages.
Interesting Things to Know
How buying local affects the economy
Have you wondered how your choices affect the local economy as a consumer? Here are a few things that can happen when a small or medium-sized business in your neighborhood doubles its sales due to strong local support.
• Expand services. The more money a small business makes, the more likely it'll expand its product and service offerings and delve into new markets. For instance, your favorite local brand may set its sights on opening a new location in a nearby town.
• Improve the job market. When small businesses grow, they require more employees. A prospering local business can help create jobs in your area.
• Uplift other local businesses. Small businesses often look to local suppliers to support their growth and help each other prosper.
• Increase social involvement. Local businesses are active in charitable causes. For example, thriving small businesses often give back to their communities by donating to local organizations.
• Reap tax benefits. Small businesses that make more money also pay more taxes. This means more money is going back into your local government to help with infrastructure and social initiatives.
Buying local is an easy way to invest in your community. It's a simple move that benefits you as well.
Interesting Things to Know
October Celebrity Birthdays!
Do you share a birthday with a celebrity?
1 – Emerald Fennell, 37, director, actress (Call the Midwife), London, England, 1985.
2 – Kelly Ripa, 52, television host, Stratford, NJ, 1970.
3 – Alicia Vikander, 34, actress (The Danish Girl), Gothenburg, Sweden, 1988.
4 – Susan Sarandon, 76, actress (Dead Man Walking), born Susan Tomalin, New York, NY, 1946.
5 – Jesse Eisenberg, 39, actor (Batman v Superman), New York, NY, 1983.
6 -Stephanie Zimbalist, 66, actress (Remington Steele), Encino, CA, 1956.
7 – Vladimir Putin, 70, President of Russia, St Petersburg (then Lenningrad), Russia, 1952.
8 – Chevy Chase, 79, comedian, actor (Caddyshack), born Cornelius Crane, New York, NY, 1943.
9 – Bella Hadid, 26, model, born Isabella Khair Hadid, Los Angeles, CA, 1996.
10 – Ben Vereen, 76, actor (Sweet Charity), singer, dancer, Miami, FL, 1946.
11 – Cardi B, 30, rapper, television personality, born Belcalis Almanzar, the Bronx, NY, 1992.
12 – Kirk Cameron, 52, actor (Growing Pains), Panorama City, CA, 1970.
13 – Ashanti, 42, singer, actress (Coach Carter), born Ashanti Sequoiah Douglas, Long Island, NY, 1980.
14 – Usher, 44, singer, actor (Moesha), bornUsher Raymond IV at Chattanooga, TN, 1978.
15 – Tito Jackson, 69, singer, musician (Jackson 5), born Toriano Adaryll Jackson, Gary, IN, 1953.
16 – Barry Corbin, 82, actor (Northern Exposure), Dawson County, TX, 1940.
17 – Eminem, 50, musician, rapper, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Kansas City, MO,1972.
18 – Freida Pinto, 38, actress (Slumdog Millionaire), Mumbai, India, 1984.
19 – Peter Max, 85, artist, designer, Berlin, Germany, 1937.
20 – John Krasinski, 43, actor (The Office), director (A Quiet Place), Boston, MA, 1979.
21 – Kim Kardashian, 42, television personality, Los Angeles, CA, 1980.
22 – Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 47, actor (Modern Family), Missoula, MT, 1975.
23 – Nancy Grace, 64, talk show host, Macon, GA, 1958.
24 – Drake, 36, singer, born Aubrey Drake Graham, Toronto, ON, Canada, 1986.
25 – Katy Perry, 38, singer, born Katheryn Hudson, Santa Barbara, CA, 1984.
26 – Ivan Reitman, 76, filmmaker (Dave, Ghostbusters), KomaÌrno, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), 1946.
27 – Matt Drudge, 56, journalist (The Drudge Report), Takoma Park, MD, 1966.
28 – Dennis Franz, 78, actor (Hill Street Blues), Maywood, IL, 1944.
29 – Winona Ryder, 51, actress (Stranger Things), born Winona Horowitz, Winona, MN, 1971.
30 – Kennedy McMann, 25, actress (Nancy Drew), Holland, MI, 1996.
31 – Letitia Wright, 28, actress (Black Panther), Georgetown, Guyana, 1993.
Wind: 4mph NNW
Humidity: 55%
Pressure: 30"Hg
UV index: 0


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Agricultural & Earthmover Tires
Partnering with our suppliers is key to the ever demanding off –road market. Callaghan tire offers both major brand and second tier tires to meet your needs. Every location has the equipment to handle large and small OTR tires
- Pneumatic Bias and Radial Tires
- Solid Loader Tires
- Foam Filled tires
Company News
National Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Day
For Patients. For Survival. For Breakthroughs.


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In August, Tom Mighell wrote on his blog, Inter Alia, about a free utility, called Restoration, that can restore deleted files on your computer. As Tom explained: "It searches your hard drive for sectors containing files marked for deletion and provides a mechanism for recovering the files."
I recently downloaded the program and tried it on my computer, with mixed results. It quickly generated a list of more than 4,000 deleted files and displayed their names and locations in the main window. But on multiple attempts to restore files, I was successful in a full restore only twice. Other times, I got either nothing or mangled or partial files. I tried to restore Word documents, image files, text files, XML files and HTML files. I was not able to restore any of the Word files I tried and only one of the image files. I had the best results — but not consistent results — with HTML files.
If you've accidentally deleted a file, this utility is worth a try. You may also want it for its other function, which is to wipe clean permanently all the deleted files it finds on your computer.


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voodoo(redirected from voodooism)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
voodoo (vo͞oˈdo͞o) [from the god Vodun], native W African religious beliefs and practices that also has adherents in the New World. Voodoo believers are most numerous in Haiti, where voodoo was granted official religious status in 2003, and in Benin, where the religion has had official recognition since 1996. Similar observances are found in Jamaica, under the name pocomania, and in parts of the United States and in the Guianas. A highly developed voodooistic religion known as candomblé is found in Brazil.
Although the magical aspects of voodoo are related to beliefs and practices found throughout the world, the basic features of voodoo were brought by slaves from W Africa, particularly those from what is now Benin, where the beliefs are still widespread (as many as 60% of the people of Benin practice voodoo). Voodoo contends that all of nature is controlled by spiritual forces which must be acknowledged and honored through offerings and animal sacrifice; ecstatic trances (a means of communicating with the gods and spirits) and magical practices play an important role in its ritual. In the New World, Christian elements were introduced, and the African deities became identified with various saints. At various time attempts have been made to suppress voodoo, but voodoo survived and continues to flourish.
See also magic; Santería; zombi.
See A. Métraux, Voodoo in Haiti (tr. 1959); F. Huxley, The Invisibles (1966).
voodooisma syncretic religious CULT, probably of African origin, which is pervasive among the peasantry and urban poor in parts of the Caribbean and Central America, but most particularly in Haiti. Voodoo practices involve MAGIC and WITCHCRAFT, especially the use of charms and spells.
Voodoo/Vodou/Vodun(religion, spiritualism, and occult)
The term Voodoo is the most popular name for a religion developed in Haiti that is a combination of the religion of the West African Yoruba people and their Roman Catholic slave owners. Although it developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the African elements may go back as far as five or six thousand years. Practitioners often use the Creole spellings "Vodou" or "Vodun" to distinguish the religion from the popular misconceptions of "voodoo" spells and black magic.
Because indigenous pagan beliefs were suppressed, the religion was forced underground and it developed in secret. Hollywood has managed to so infect the minds of most Westerners that it is almost impossible to join in honest discussion of Voodoo. "Everyone knows" it deals in black magic and incantations carried on in the dark of night by Obeah women who speak with musical Caribbean accents. "Everyone knows" it is involved with evil spells that produce zombies or "walking dead." And there is a very small kernel of truth in what "everyone knows." But mostly, what "everyone knows" comes out of fantasy movies, not reality.
The truth is that Voodoo is concerned primarily with veneration of the ancestors, as is the case with Japanese Shinto. It recognizes a pantheon of "nature" gods,
similar to Hinduism. These vary from group to group; it is difficult to summarize Voodoo because there are so many different expressions. Anthropologists can't even agree who the principal deities are. Many have compiled lists of the different names for the gods, but no two lists are the same.
What is known is that Roman Catholicism has shaped Voodoo culture. Both believe in a Supreme Being. The Catholic saints are paralleled by the Voodoo loa or lwa, the spirits of people who had led exceptional lives. Both religions believe in an afterlife and have, as their centerpiece, a ritual sacrifice involving both flesh and blood. Both believe in the existence of evil, demonic, invisible spirits. Both believe in the existence of the human soul, which leaves the body at death to enter the place prepared for it. Both believe in exorcism. The many ceremonies, songs, and dances of Voodoo are performed primarily to honor worshipers' ancestors or the loa.
Voodoo(religion, spiritualism, and occult)
Like Witchcraft, Voodoo is a religion. It is not black magic and it does not consist of sticking pins into dolls. It is rather a religion of initiation, a mystery religion. Voodoo stems from the kingdom of Dahomey, on the Ivory Coast of Africa, and was brought to the West Indies by slaves at the end of the seventeenth century. The language of Dahomey was known as fon, meaning "king." The word Voodoo or Voudoun is the fon word for "spirit" or "god," or for a sacred object.
The Republic of Haiti—the western part of the island that also includes the Dominican Republic—is the place most often associated with Voodoo and probably where it is practiced in its purest form. It is a religion in the sense of any other religion, with a system of beliefs, faith, and traditional rites. Religion can be defined as "the attitude of individuals in community to the powers which they conceive as having ultimate control over their destinies and interests." (Religions of the World Made Simple, Dr. John Lewis. Doubleday, New York, 1968.) This definition fits Voodoo as well as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Witchcraft, Buddhism, or any other established religion.
In Voodoo there are a number of gods, or loa, as well as a priesthood and various festivals and ceremonies. The ceremonies are held at a sanctuary or temple known as a hounfor or hunfo. These vary greatly in size and style depending on the affluence of the immediate community. Some are very elaborate with a number of peristyles (covered altar areas), while others are small buildings with a rough cement block for an altar.
The priest in Voodoo is the houngan and the priestess the mambo. Ceremonies are attended by initiated and noninitiated alike. However, the initial part of the ceremony is performed by the priests, the initiates, and the shortly-to-be-initiated only, while the rest of the congregation sits and watches. Participants and audience tend to merge more and more as the ceremonies progress. The initiated are known as the hounsi, meaning "the spouse of the god." They are dressed in white at the rituals and assist the houngan and mambo, whom they call "Papa" and "Mama." Those who are going through a training period for initiation are dressed in red and are known as the hounsi-kanzo.
Initiation for the hounsi-kanzo starts with a series of public prayers, led by the mambo, every evening for a period of six days. At the end of this time the hounsikanzo are blindfolded and led off into seclusion. For nine days they remain in an isolated hut. There they must lie on their beds on their left side, and may eat only food that is white in color. Only the mambo and her assistants may enter the hut during this period, which is called the couché (putting to bed).
Upon first entering the hut the individual hounsi-kanzo strips and kneels. She has her head bathed with an herbal concoction prepared by the mambo, and then all bodily hair is removed. During the nine day period she learns many prayers, songs, and a variety of secret passwords and signs. On the third day her soul is ritually transferred to a pot-de-tête jar, which will be kept by the mambo on the houfor altar. The jar also holds a lock of the initiate's hair, fingernail parings, and pubic hair.
The many gods, or loa, of Voodoo have specific names and definite duties. They are invoked in ceremonies and make their presence known by possessing their worshipers and "riding" them like horses. There are two types of god: the Rada, who are chthonic deities known as "the Gentle Gods," and the Petro, who are bitter, unyielding deities specializing in magic, charms, and cures. The Petro are feared and are named after a certain Don Pedro, who introduced the rites to Haiti from Santo Domingo. The more important loa are the Rada. The name Rada comes from the name of the ancient capital of Dahomey, Arada. Rada deities include:
DAMBALLAH-WÉDO—Known as "the Ancient and Venerable Father," Damballah-Wédo is looked upon as the source of all wisdom, the origin and essence of life. Damballah is regarded as a serpent deity. In the corner of many hounfors is a tree with a pond (or even an old bathtub sunk into the ground) beside it. This is the special home for this loa, who is also looked upon as the guardian and protector of springs, lakes, and ponds. The center post holding up the roof of the peristyle, and around which the altar is constructed, is also regarded as Damballah's tree, and he is thought to be at the top of it during the rituals. Two eggs are a particular offering for Damballah.
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AYIDA-WÉDO—The wife of Damballah, she is also depicted as a serpent. Together the two represent sexual totality. Their symbol is an egg (representing the world).
LEGBA—A most important loa, Legba is the Guardian of the Crossroads (in this sense similar to the Greek goddess Hecate). He is sometimes referred to as Maître Carrefour, or God of the Crossroads. Legba can remove the barrier between this world and the next, so he must be invoked first, of all the loa. He is usually represented as an old man, dressed in rags and leaning on a crutch, although he is thought to have tremendous strength. His attributes are a tree, a cane, and a tall hat.
AGWÉ (or Agwé-Taroyo)—The Poseidon of Voodoo. Called The Shell of the Sea, Eel, Tadpole of the Pond, he is lord of the sea and all that is in it: flora, fauna, ships, and shipwrecks. He is depicted as a fair-skinned mulatto with green eyes, dressed in a naval officer's uniform. His emblems are miniature boats, oars painted green or blue, and shells.
ERZULIE (or Ezilie)-FREDA-DAHOMEY—The counterpart of Aphrodite. Considered the Great Mother and a goddess of beauty, she has an overabundance of love. She comes from a family of sea spirits. She is extremely extravagant, and she loves beautiful clothes, makeup, and perfume. Erzulie is very refined, very sensual, very coquettish. She always wears three wedding bands. There is usually a small room near the peristyle furnished especially for Erzulie. It contains a large brass bed; a dressing table covered in makeup, perfume, and powder; and a closet full of beautiful dresses, all contributed by the community.
OGOUN (or Ogu-Balindjo)—Ogoun is a storm god. Basically a sky deity, he is depicted as a wounded warrior who carries an enormous sabre. He is also known as "Blacksmith of the Gods," like the Greek god Hephaestus.
ZAKA (or Papa-Azzaca)—Zaka is in charge of crops and agricultural labor. He appears in peasant dress wearing a dark blue denim shirt and straw hat, with a short clay pipe in his mouth and a machette over his shoulder.
GUÉDÉ—The loa of Death and Sexuality is very much a chthonic deity. He is frequently obscene in both word and gesture. He is usually depicted in formal mourning clothes wearing black spectacles. Yet he is also a great healer. In his Petro aspect he is known variously as Baron Samedi, Baron La-Croix, Baron Cimitière, and The Three Spades (grave digging tools). His symbols are a cross or a spade, a pick, and a hoe or adze.
BRIGITTE (Madame Brigitte or Big Brigitte)—The wife of Guédé. She calls him "Corpse and Phallus; King and Clown." Other members of the Guédé family are Guédé-nibo and Captain Guédé, otherwise known as Captain Zombi.
Each of the loa has a symbol, or emblem, peculiar to him or her, much like the sigils found in Ceremonial Magic. These are known as vévés or vevers and are drawn on the floor of the hounfor during a ritual to invoke the specific loa. The mambo takes a handful of corn meal and allows it to trickle through her fingers, making the design on the ground. She draws the extremely intricate designs with amazing rapidity yet great accuracy.
At a typical Voodoo ceremony, the villagers file into the peristyle through the tonnelle and take their places on the seats and benches spread around the central circular area. The roof is usually palm-thatched and is supported on columns around the sides, with no outer walls, and with a central column around which the altar is set up. The central pole is known as the poteaumitan and is sacred to Damballah. On and about the altar are candles, bottles of rum, pots-de-tête, bundles of dried herbs, statues of Catholic saints, an iron cross, gourd rattles, and many strings of colored beads.
Drummers lead the procession into the peristyle and take their positions. They are important to the rituals; under the direction of the mambo, the drummers can bring about the necessary ekstasis for possession by the loa to take place. There are three types of drum: Maman, Seconde or Papa, and Boula (Baby) or Cata. An Ogantier strikes a steel bar known as an ogan with a metal stick, producing a rhythmic staccato beat to complement the drums.
With a burst of activity from the drummers, the procession starts in earnest, led by the master of ceremonies known as La-Place. He carries a sabre. Behind him come the standard bearers, carrying the flags of the hounfor and its société. They are followed by houngan and mambo then by the hounsi and hounsi-kanzo. All process into the peristyle, salute the poteaumitan, and stand in a circle about the altar. The mambo takes her ceremonial asson—a gourd rattle decorated with colored beads and snake vertebrae—and shakes it at the four cardinal points, much as a Wiccan High Priestess will walk about to the four cardinal points. She is followed by the hougan, who spits rum at those same points, again similar to the Wiccan sprinkling of salt and water.
Papa Legba is the first loa invoked, and he is asked to "open the gates." Chants,
prayers, and liturgy continue with the mambo, at one point, drawing the vévé of the requested loa on the ground in front of the altar. Different loa may be asked to appear for different purposes. All of them seem anxious to appear and sometimes the wrong one comes through and has to be sent off till the one sought appears.
As the mambo finishes drawing the vévé, a frenzy of drumming is unleashed. All dance about the altar, gradually intruding onto the drawn vévé. Line by line it gets trampled into the dirt of the peristyle. Eventually someone becomes possessed. Once the houngan has verified that the requested loa has appeared, the possessed person will then take up that deity's attributes. If, for example, it is Agwé, the possessed will don a captain's hat and tuck a telescope under his arm (all kept beside the altar). If it is Guédé, he will wear the black top hat and glasses and may light a large cigar. For Erzulie, the possessed will retire to the room devoted to her and put on a dress, makeup and perfume before coming back to mingle with the worshipers. A man may be possessed by Erzulie or a woman by Guédé—it doesn't matter, because to the worshipers it is the loa him or herself who is now present, not simply a person dressed as him or her. In this way, the Voodoo followers are able to relate to, and actually talk with, the gods in whom they believe.
There is a generous dose of Christianity mixed in with Voodoo. For years Christian missionaries tried to stamp out Voodoo and convert its followers from their ancestral religion. Not understanding the makeup of Voodoo, the missionaries—fervent monotheists—persecuted the natives, burning peristyles, drums, flags, beads, assons, and all Voodoo trappings, naively believing that by so doing they could stamp out beliefs that had been held for generations. The Haitians, for their part, eventually assumed a mask of Christianity in order to be left alone, but they continued to practice their own religion in secret.
Since St. Patrick is often depicted surrounded by snakes, Haitians used such depictions to represent the Voodoo serpent deity Damballah. Similarly, Mary represented Erzulie, St. George depicted Ogoun, and Jesus was found in the plenipotentiary Legba, for example. A Christian priest could then go to a home in Haiti and happily see many Christian emblems and figures prominently displayed, not realizing that to the people in the house these were still their old pagan gods. In similar fashion, the Voodoo followers could see the power of the Church and thus adopted some of its rituals believing they would add to their own power. In this way a typical Voodoo ritual will include prayers, chants, Paternosters, and Ave Marias.
Voodoo is found in places other than Haiti, although Haiti seems to be the main area for the religious emphasis. In New Orleans, Louisiana, for example— and in many large cities around the United States—a variety of Voodoo exists that emphasizes the buying and selling of gris-gris (charms and spells), candles, baths, powders, and other items. The Voodoo "kings" and "queens" may also be found here. In the early nineteenth century the most famous of these was Marie Laveau, a free mulatto woman who would stage huge dances on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
Many South American countries have variations of Voodoo. Macumba, Umbanda, Qimbanda, and Candomblé are the names of the varieties of Voodoo found throughout Latin America. These are not dying out. On the contrary, even with the ever-increasing literacy rate in Brazil and the other South American countries, the followers of these different versions of Voodoo are increasing in number, perhaps because of the very personal nature of the relationship between the worshiper and his deities. As in Witchcraft, the follower is not just a spectator but a participant. The communion with divinity is absolute.


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You'd think I'd have no problem picking a color, but having this many polishes kind of makes my brain short circuit and I sometimes end up not wearing anything. :/ So, I'm opening it up to suggestions. I have a spreadsheet of my stash (like on the right), and if there is something you'd like to see, just reply to this post, to a current post, or shoot me an email.
My next mani is to create a konad design using Up and Away polishes as the stamp colors, but beyond that, I'm pretty open.
3 comments:
- Unknown said...
I've been lemming Vampire State Building by OPI. I have Revlon's Vixen, which is supposed to be a dupe. I also have Misa Love Bite and Misa Stiletto, Avon Tweed, Clinique Black Honey Velvet, and Diamond Cosmetics Naughty Intern. I love them all, but wonder if I still need Vampire State Building. :) Would it be possible to post a comparison of VSB with one of the polishes I listed, or another readily available vamp red creme so I can see if I still need to track down VSB? Thanks!!
- January 18, 2010 at 12:11 AM
- Megan (A Polish Problem) said...
Teresa, the only one I have of the ones you listed VSB. I've heard that it's dupish to OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ, which is from OPI's 2005 Chicago Collection, and from what I understand, it's still readily available. Honestly, and I know this is no help when you have a major lemming, I wasn't that impressed with VSB. It didn't have a nice sheen to it, IMO. I've been meaning to pick up Misa Love Bite and Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ, so I can do that at my next haul (probably when the Orly Sweet collection comes out), though looking at swatches online, I think Love Bite is a little lighter than VSB. The only one vampy creme I have in my collection is OPI All A-bordeaux the Sled, and it's too dark.
I will reswatch VSB for you, though. Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance when I tried it before.
As for finding VSB... don't give up. I found mine on eBay for $10. I really wished I loved it, so I probably need to give it another chance. :)
- January 18, 2010 at 12:27 PM
- Unknown said...
Thanks, Megan! :) I'm excited to see your new swatch, and especially to see the comparison to Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ. :)
- January 18, 2010 at 2:47 PM
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