The University of Chicago Library > Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Mrs. Patrick Campbell Letters 1905-1938
Guide to the Mrs. Patrick Campbell Letters 1905-1938
Series I:	Correspondence
Series II:	Photographs
Series III:	Miscellaneous Material
Campbell, Mrs. Patrick. Letters
0.5 linear feet (1 box)
Mrs. Campbell was an actress and her collection contains primarily correspondence but also includes photographs, newspaper clippings, playbills, and broadsides. Most of the letters are addressed to Mrs. Frank (Harriett) Carolan, later Mrs. Arthur Schermerhorn.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Campbell, Mrs. Patrick. Letters,
Beatrice Stella Campbell (1865-1940), known professionally as Mrs. Patrick Campbell, was a renowned English actress, famous for her portrayal of characters at once passionate and intelligent. The daughter of Jon Tanner, an English businessman in India, and Maria Romanini, an Italian countess, she began her professional stage career in 1888. Her first great success was as Paula in "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray" by Arthur Pinero. Among her famous Shakespearian roles were Juliet, Lady Macbeth, and Ophelia. She also starred as Mélisande in Maeterlinck's "Pélleas and Mélisande," and in the title roles in Ibsen's dedda Gabler," Hofmannsthal's "Elektra," and Yeat's "Deirdre." In 1914 she created the role of Eliza Doolittle in Shaw's "Pygmalion," and she maintained a warm friendship with the playwright. After World War I, she played few new roles, mainly recreating her former starring parts on tour in the United States and England. During the 1930's she also played minor roles in several American films. She died in 1940 in Pau, France.
The overwhelming majority of the letters of Mrs. Campbell in this collection are addressed to Mrs. Frank (Harriett) Carolan, later Mrs. Arthur Schermerhorn. In her autobiography, My Life and Some Letters (1922), Mrs. Campbell writes of Mrs. Carolan as "one of my dearest friends." Their friendship was long-standing and Mrs. Campbell often called on Mrs. Carolan for financial aid.
The letters fall mainly into two groups, one series between 1905 and 1918, and a second between 1927 and 1938. All of the letters are chatty and informal. The first series, however, deals mainly with her theatrical career. Of some interest are Mrs. Campbell's frequent pungent remarks about American audiences during her tours. Many famous people are briefly mentioned, such as George Bernard Shaw, Charles Laughton, and Katherine Cornell. Mrs. Campbell writes of the opening nights of many of her plays, of accidents, which befell her, such as when she broke her knee-cap in Philadelphia in 1905, and when her hair caught on fire during a performance. A carbon copy of a letter from her son is included in the papers. He was a British officer in World War I and fought at Gallipoli. His long letter movingly recreates the battle conditions existing on that front. He was later killed in France.
The second series, material after 1927, reveals clearly the decline in Mrs. Campbell's fortunes, her inability to find work, and her constant money difficulties. The collection includes several letters from Hollywood, where she had gone to find work, but had little success.
The collection also includes correspondence of Mrs. Campbell with others. There are also several letters to Mrs. Carolan from her daughter Stella, her son Alan ("Beo"), and her second husband, George Cornwallis-West. The collection also includes 14 photographs, 8 of Mrs. Campbell, and some playbills, broadsides, and clippings.
Campbell, Patrick, Mrs., 1865-1940
Carolan, Harriet Pullman, 1869-1956
BSC to Mrs. Cowles
Stella Campbell to Harriett Carolan
BSC to Harriett Carolan
BSC to Frank Carolan
Alan (Beo) Campbell to Harriett Carolan
BSC to Harriett Cardan
George Cornwallis-West to Harriett Carolan
T.W.W. Forest to BSC (Mrs. G. Cornwallis-West)
Enclosure: Alan (Beo) Campbell to BSC (carbon)
Harriett Carolan to BSC (copy night letter)
G. Cornwallis-West to Harriett Carolan
G Cornwallis-West to Harriett Carolan
BSC to Harriett Schermerhorn
(plus 2 clippings, 2 advertisements)
Helen Arthur to Harriett Schermerhorn
Enclosures: Cornelia Lunt to BSC (carbon)
Nina Englehart to BSC "
Photo of golden eagle feeding its young
BSC to Mrs. Tower
Itinerary of tour
Stella Campbell to Harriett Schermerhorn
Elizabeth Carmichael to H. Schermerhorn
Kendall Mussey to BSC
Enclosures: Draft of speech for BSC
Statement to press of Mussey
Katharine Cornell to BSC (telegram)
Stella Campbell to H. Schermerhorn
Enclosures: clipping of review of play
I. Van Meter to BSC
Bills for dresses
BSC to an unknown person
Notation on envelope of seats for play
Beatrice Stella Campbell in costume
Snapshots of BSC
Stella Campbell in presentation gown, 1906
Stella Campbell in snapshot
Stella Campbell in costume
George Cornwallis-West in portrait, 1915
Moonbeam, BSC's dog, in 1930's
Playbills and broadsides
Newspaper clippings (reviews of plays and recitals; articles on her life and activities; obituary.


Flanders: a society built on recycling
1 November 2011, source edie newsroom
With its popular recycling parks, fashionable reuse shops and tiny landfill rates for household waste, Flanders in Belgium looks like an unqualified waste management success story. David Gilliver investigates
Flanders is a great model that other nations should aspire to
Flanders does not have any natural resources, so it is in its ecological and economic interests to be a recycling society, says Jan Verheyen of the region's waste management policy-making body, OVAM. And a recycling society they certainly are, with the landfill rate for household waste standing at just 1%.
Waste management in Belgium is a regional issue, and effective cooperation between individual local authorities - whose responsibility it is to collect household waste - and the Flemish level has been a key factor in the region's success, says Verheyen.
Flanders' drive towards achieving its impressive results began in the early 1980s, when landfill rates for household waste stood at around 50%. The first priority was to boost incineration capacity and shut down illegal and environmentally-unsound landfills, and OVAM still makes sure that landfill is as expensive, and banned for as many items, as possible.
Household collections for paper and cardboard, glass, packaging waste and garden waste were introduced in stages from the early 1990s, and although residents are charged for some of these, perhaps surprisingly there has never been any real resistance.
This is because OVAM encourages local authorities to introduce "differentiated systems" of payment, says Verheyen, which means that collections for non-recyclable residual household waste are the most expensive for residents, while garden waste is less expensive, although people still have to pay. Hazardous waste, household packaging waste and waste from electronic appliances is collected free. "Basically, the better you recycle, the less you pay," he says.
Another important factor is that there are "take-back" obligations for industry on some items, he stresses. "It's the producer's responsibility to take back my old television set, for example, and for that I pay a small recycling fee when I buy a new TV."
Local authorities also have a degree of autonomy to adapt the Flemish rules to local needs. Rural and urban areas can set different charges and collection frequencies for green waste, for instance, although waste tariffs will usually be the same in neighbouring areas to avoid "waste tourism".
As well as door-to-door collections there are large subterranean containers for paper, bottles and food waste, which allow trucks to pick up the equivalent weight of 120 waste sacks in a single collection.
Local authorities have established popular recycling parks where people can bring things such as garden waste, electrical appliances, oil or tyres. Another success has been the large network of subsidised local "reuse" shops, which accept anything from furniture and clothes to electrical goods and toys, and arrange free collection for larger items. Similar initiatives have never proved popular in the UK, so what is the secret?
"They're organised on an inter-municipal level and they have to be economically viable, so there isn't a reuse shop in every village or town," he says. "There's always been a strong link with social employment, which has been one factor of their success, and in recent years there's also been a level of hype. It's become trendy to use stuff from the shops, and we've seen their popularity grow year after year."
The whole thing looks impressive to British eyes, and a crucial element is effective, and sustained, communication and information campaigns. "You can't just run a campaign once or twice, and then nothing - it's very important to continue those efforts, and very important to involve local authorities. They can adapt your campaigns to a local level."
These days, industrial waste is more of a priority than household waste, he says. While around 72% of household waste is recycled and 27% incinerated, rates of recycling and reuse for industrial waste stand at around 63%.
"But the total amount of industrial waste is much higher, so our main priority is to stimulate Flemish industries and companies to improve their eco-efficiency - to introduce eco-design in their products and processes and to apply cradle-to-cradle principles."
Friends of the Earth resource use campaigner, Julian Kirby, believes that people in the UK are just as keen to recycle, compost and reuse as the Belgians. But, with political differences even within the same parties on issues such as weekly bin collections, compounded by the localism agenda and other competing ideologies, does the political will exist to achieve something similar here?
"England's waste policy is incoherent and piecemeal, and lacking in overall ambition and clarity of direction, so at the national government level I think it's fair to say that there isn't the political will, yet, to achieve anything remotely approaching the ambition of Flanders," he says.
"That said, there is considerable appetite across all sections of the economy for much more ambition on waste, and I've also heard directly from many local councillors that they're hungry for a national government lead on pushing waste policy forward. So the political will is there - everywhere but at the national government level."
David Gilliver is a freelance journalist
| Food waste | Reuse | Food & drink | Food waste | glass | hazardous waste | incineration | packaging | Reuse | Food & drink | Food waste | glass | hazardous waste | incineration | packaging | Reuse


HRW – Human Rights Watch
DR Congo: Opposition Under Assault
(Kinshasa) – Government security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo used live ammunition and teargas to disperse largely peaceful political opposition rallies during candidate registration in early August 2018.
Authorities also restricted the movement of opposition leaders, arrested dozens of opposition supporters, and prevented one presidential aspirant, Moïse Katumbi, from entering the country to file his candidacy for the presidential election scheduled for later this year.
“Congolese authorities have firmly clamped down on the political opposition in an apparent attempt to control the electoral process,” said Ida Sawyer, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Elections can’t be credible when an opposition leader is banned from participating and opposition supporters risk death, injury, or arrest just for going out on the streets to peacefully support their leaders.”
The findings are based on personal and phone interviews in August with more than 45 victims and witnesses of violations, medical workers, activists, and Congolese political party members and leaders in Kinshasa, Goma, and Brussels, Belgium.
The Congolese government should end the excessive use of force against opposition supporters, release arbitrarily detained opposition party members and activists, and investigate serious violations and appropriately hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said. The authorities should allow all Congolese to fully and freely participate in the electoral process, including by permitting Katumbi to enter the country and register as a candidate.
Concerned governments and regional bodies should press President Joseph Kabila and other senior officials to end the repression of the opposition and to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair, and inclusive. The governments and regional bodies should expand targeted sanctions if grave human rights violations continue.
On August 1, security forces fired teargas and live ammunition to disperse tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered to welcome the opposition leader and former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba in the capital, Kinshasa, wounding at least two people. Bemba returned to Congo to register as a presidential candidate after an International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals chamber overturned his war crimes and crimes against humanity convictions on June 8. Soon after Bemba arrived in Kinshasa, security forces blocked him from going to his residence in Kinshasa’s Gombe neighborhood. The authorities claimed his home was in a “presidential zone” that was off limits.
On August 2, the mayor of Lubumbashi, in southeastern Congo, issued a written statement that Katumbi would not be authorized to land at the Lubumbashi airport by private plane, as he had requested. Katumbi, who has been living in exile for the past two years due to a series of politically motivated judicial procedures, traveled instead to Zambia and attempted to enter Congo by road at the Kasumbalesa border crossing on August 3. Congolese authorities warned Katumbi that they would immediately arrest him upon his arrival in Congo. But when Katumbi reached the border, officials instead shut down the border and denied him entry.
Security forces fired live ammunition and teargas to disperse the thousands of supporters who came to welcome Katumbi on the Congolese side of the border on August 3, killing at least one person and wounding one other. Dozens of supporters were arrested. Security forces also deployed massively across parts of Lubumbashi and erected roadblocks on major roads, where they systematically searched vehicles.
Police also stopped members of parliament and other officials from Katumbi’s political coalition as they drove toward Lubumbashi’s airport, where they were expecting Katumbi to land. “As we tried to pass, a police officer pointed his gun at us and threatened to shoot us if we dared to continue,” one official told Human Rights Watch. “He said he was executing orders from his superiors,” the official said. When the delegation later tried to travel to Kasumbalesa to meet Katumbi there, police stopped them at a roadblock just outside of town and forced them to turn around.
In the eastern city of Goma, police prevented Katumbi’s coalition members from holding a peaceful protest on August 3. Protests continued in Lubumbashi and Kasumbalesa over the following days, as authorities continued to refuse to let Katumbi enter the country. On August 6, security forces shot dead a 10-year-old boy and wounded at least four people during protests in Lubumbashi.
Police again used teargas to disperse peaceful supporters of another opposition leader, Félix Tshisekedi, when he filed his candidacy for president at the national electoral commission, CENI, in Kinshasa on August 7.
Despite campaigning by top ruling party officials for the president to make a bid for an unconstitutional third term – and in the face of increasing national, regional, and international pressure to step down – Kabila did not submit his candidacy. He instead chose Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, current permanent secretary of the ruling party and former vice prime minister and interior minister, as the candidate for his electoral platform. In May 2017, the European Union sanctioned Ramazani for his involvement in “planning, directing, or committing acts that constitute serious human rights violations” in Congo.
In total, 25 people filed their candidacies for the presidential election during the registration period between July 25 to August 8. Katumbi submitted two complaints to the Conseil d’Etat, the country’s highest court, on August 8, contesting the migration department’s refusal to let him enter the country and calling on the electoral commission to permit him to register to vote and submit his candidacy. The court has not yet issued a decision.
The electoral commission published its preliminary list of candidates on August 24, disqualifying six presidential candidates, including Bemba and three former prime ministers, for reasons that many civil society activists and opposition political leaders denounced as arbitrary and politically motivated. Candidates can appeal to the country’s Constitutional Court. The final list of candidates will be published on September 19.
“Kabila not filing as a candidate is a crucial first step, but a credible electoral process is still a long way off,” Sawyer said. “Persistent pressure from Congo’s regional and international partners is needed for the country to avoid more repression and bloodshed and have a truly democratic transition.”
The Quest for New Elections
Over the past three years, Congolese government and ruling party officials and government security forces have used repression, violence, and corruption to extend their hold on power. President Joseph Kabila remains in office beyond the end of his constitutionally mandated two-term limit in December 2016.
Security forces have killed nearly 300 people during largely peaceful political protests since 2015, including by recruiting former fighters from the abusive M23 armed group to take part in the crackdown. Security services have arrested hundreds of political opposition supporters and pro-democracy and human rights activists. The intelligence services mistreated many of them and held them in illegal detention for weeks or months, without charge or access to their families or lawyers. Others were put on trial on trumped-up charges.
A Catholic Church-mediated power-sharing agreement signed on December 31, 2016, and known as the “New Year’s Eve agreement,” called for elections by the end of 2017 and for “confidence building measures” to ease tensions and open political space. Congo’s ruling coalition has largely flouted these commitments, as repression continues, and many political prisoners and activists remain in detention. In November 2017, the electoral commission published an electoral calendar setting December 23, 2018, as the date for presidential, legislative, and provincial elections.
Katumbi’s case was one of the “emblematic cases” highlighted in the New Year’s Eve agreement’s confidence-building measures. Congo’s conference of Catholic bishops and many others have denounced the irregularities in the judicial proceedings against Katumbi, including political pressure on judges to rule against Katumbi. One judge who refused to hand down a ruling against Katumbi was shot and almost killed by unidentified armed men. In June 2017, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Katumbi should be allowed to return to Congo and fully participate in the electoral process.
Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba announced on August 16, 2018, that Congo had issued an international arrest warrant for Katumbi.
In a statement on August 9, the African Union Commission’s chairman, Moussa Faki, appealed “to all actors concerned to work together, in good faith, to hold peaceful, transparent and truly inclusive elections, in particular by guaranteeing the right of all citizens who wish to compete.”
On August 13, the UN Security Council “reiterated that effective, swift and sincere implementation of the [2016 New Year’s Eve] Agreement, including the Agreement’s confidence building measures as well as respect for fundamental rights, and the electorate timeline are essential for peaceful and credible elections on 23 December, a democratic transition of power, and the peace and stability of the DRC.”
In an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) on August 14, 2018, the Angolan foreign minister, Manuel Domingos Augusto, said that Kabila’s decision not to run was “a big step,” but that more needs to happen “for the electoral process to succeed and achieve the objectives that have been set by the Congolese.” He emphasized the need for full respect of the New Year’s Eve agreement, including the confidence building measures, and for the elections to be inclusive.
At a recent Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Windhoek, Namibia, the Namibian president and new SADC chairman, Hage Geingob, said in an interview with RFI that the crisis in Congo could lead to more refugees fleeing to neighboring countries if it is not resolved. “That’s why, as a sub-regional organization, we intervene to say: colleagues in the region, we have rules about elections,” he said. “They need to be inclusive, they need to be transparent, and the opposition leaders need to have a say.”
Congolese human rights and pro-democracy groups created an online platform on August 14 with detailed information on the electoral process and 10 conditions they identified as necessary for the elections to be free, fair, transparent, and inclusive.
They called for the government to immediately release political prisoners, allow the free return of those living in exile, allow arbitrarily closed media outlets to reopen, ensure independence of the judiciary, and allow freedom for all Congolese to protest peacefully. They also said the electoral commission should reject the use of controversial voting machines thought to pose a danger of vote tampering, clean up the voter roll, and provide transparency in its activities and financing.
Crackdown on Katumbi Supporters
When Katumbi supporters gathered at the Kasumbalesa border crossing on August 3, security forces killed at least one person and shot and wounded another. Human Rights Watch received credible reports that security forces had killed two other people in Kasumbalesa that day. On August 6, police and soldiers deployed across Lubumbashi, the provincial capital about 90 kilometers from Kasumbalesa. They fired teargas and live ammunition to disperse protesters in several neighborhoods, killing a child and wounding four others. Some of the protesters reportedly set stalls and cars on fire and pillaged shops.
The brother of Olivier Tchamala Kambaji, a 19-year-old student and phone airtime vendor, described his brother’s killing in Kasumbalesa on August 3:
Olivier went out at around 5 p.m. to stock up on units to resell. There had been gunshots earlier when Moïse Katumbi was blocked from entering Kasumbalesa, but we thought things had calmed down by then. Olivier went toward his distributor’s house, and when he got to the railroad tracks, before getting to the main road, he heard shots. He immediately started to run in the opposite direction, but unfortunately a bullet hit him in the lower part of his back as he was running. He fell to the ground. Just next to him, another young man fell down. He had been hit in his shoulder.
Olivier’s friend then called me to tell me what happened, and he said he was taking them to the hospital. But on their way, a police jeep stopped them and took Olivier and the other man who was hit. The police said they would take them to the hospital, but we learned later that they instead drove around with them until the next day, when they were taken to a hospital in Lubumbashi. I got word that he was there, so I drove to Lubumbashi. The people at the hospital told me Olivier was already dead when he arrived. So I can’t tell you now whether he died right away or if he died while with the police and could have been saved. It’s revolting!
A 19-year-old man who sold cigarettes said that security forces shot and wounded him in Kasumbalesa on August 3:
On my way home [from work], I saw a lot of trouble near the railroad. People were burning tires and throwing stones. I hurried past them. But then the police started firing teargas and live bullets at the crowd. Then I felt something hit me, and I fell down immediately. I did not even see the bullet coming. I was in a lot of pain. The bullet had entered my upper thigh and came out through my back. I was taken to the hospital where the doctors operated on me. They say I need a second operation, but I don’t have the money to pay for it. I am in a lot of pain, and I am waiting for God’s help.
A 32-year-old mason said that his 10-year-old son, Gédéon Ntumba Kalala, was killed by a stray bullet in Lubumbashi on August 6:
On Monday [August 6], I stayed at our home in the Katuba Kananga neighborhood because of the trouble in the city. My second son, Gédéon, was playing with his friends in front of our house. The protests weren’t on our road, but when the shots began, people began fleeing through our neighborhood. It was between 11 a.m. and noon. There were a lot of gunshots, and I didn’t have time to hide or tell the kids to take cover. Gédéon’s back was to the road, and then all of a sudden, I saw him fall over. I ran over to him and saw that he had been hit by a bullet in his lower back, close to his spine. I took Gédéon in my arms and screamed for somebody to come help me. My son bled and suffered. He breathed heavily and was already unconscious.
Gédéon was quickly taken to the hospital, but he could not be saved, his father said.
A 34-year-old vendor of second-hand clothes in Lubumbashi said she was shot on August 6:
In the morning, we heard noise coming from the road. There were lots of shots fired. I learned that there were demonstrations to demand the return of Moïse Katumbi. I didn’t dare leave my house that day and go out to sell clothes. Then around 11 a.m., I was outside doing laundry when I heard a noise and felt that something had hit me in my pelvis. It was a little hot, but it didn’t hurt right away. Then I looked down and saw blood. I started to scream and cry. My mother quickly took my dress off and we saw that a bullet had hit me. My brother immediately left to get a taxi to bring me to the hospital. A doctor eventually operated on me and extracted the bullet.
I think I was lucky that day, but the police must not shoot live rounds at people during a demonstration. Protestors can die and even others who have nothing to do with it, like me, can be hit by stray bullets.
On August 3, Congolese police and migration officials held up for questioning a Congolese correspondent with Radio France Internationale, Baudouin Kamanda Wa Kamanda, as well as two parliament members and two university professors, after they returned to Congo from Zambia. The officials drove them to the provincial capital, Lubumbashi, under the pretext of ensuring their protection and handed them over to the migration agency director in Lubumbashi. The group was released shortly after.
Police stopped a Congolese journalist with Canal Congo Télévision on the road as he was traveling to Kasumbalesa to cover Katumbi’s return. He said:
We were about 20 kilometers from the town [of Kasumbalesa] when three police jeeps came and told all drivers to return to Lubumbashi. There was a long line of vehicles at a standstill because of a roadblock further ahead. We turned back, and I started filming the long line of vehicles. About 30 kilometers away from Kasumbalesa, ANR [national intelligence] agents and police officers came up to me, grabbed me, and snatched my phone and my camera. They started checking the images I had filmed, and they later told me that I had compromised state security.
The journalist said that the ANR agents held him for about four hours in a house about 20 meters from the road, near a police office. They erased the images he filmed and released him after returning US$150 of the $200 they had taken from him, he said.
Dozens of Katumbi supporters were also arrested at the border with Zambia on August 3 and 4. At least 64 of them, all men, were taken before a judge on August 10 and accused of various charges, including “rebellion,” “inciting civil disobedience,” “intentional destruction of goods or property,” and “aggravated theft.” They were again taken before a judge on August 22 and remain in detention in Kasapa, Lubumbashi’s central prison.
Rights Violations Against Bemba and His Supporters
When Bemba returned to Congo on August 1 after 11 years abroad, police restricted him and his supporters’ movements. The secretary-general of Bemba’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) political party, Eve Bazaiba, said that authorities made last-minute changes to their agreed-upon itinerary the day before Bemba’s arrival:
Two weeks before Bemba arrived, we had already agreed with the city authorities on the itinerary that he would take with his supporters after leaving the airport. But to our surprise, [police] General [Sylvano] Kasongo informed us the day before Bemba arrived that only two protocol officers would be able to welcome him on the tarmac, and only 10 people could wait for him in the [airport] VIP lounge. Upon leaving the airport, his motorcade was not to drive at less than 40 kilometers per hour, stop, or slow down. If he dared to stop, the police would use teargas or any other tool at its disposal to disperse his supporters, Kasongo told us.
When Bemba arrived, security forces used excessive force, firing teargas and live ammunition to disperse the tens of thousands of supporters who had peacefully gathered to welcome him. At least two people were shot, according to MLC party officials and hospital records seen by Human Rights Watch. In the commotion as people fled, several people fell and were hurt or were trampled.
A Congolese journalist covering Bemba’s return said:
When Jean-Pierre Bemba’s motorcade left Ndjili airport, a large crowd of supporters followed. Not far from the airport, police began firing [tear]gas at the crowd and live bullets into the air to prevent the supporters from accompanying the motorcade. The crowd was in complete disarray and people fled in all directions. Some of them jumped over the airport fence to take refuge. Once inside the compound, Republican Guard soldiers fired into the air to chase them away. The supporters had to jump over the fence again and several of them hurt themselves. It’s clear that the police didn’t want Bemba to be accompanied by a big crowd of his supporters.
An MLC activist was wounded as police dispersed the activists accompanying Bemba’s motorcade:
Several people accompanied Bemba’s motorcade as he left the airport. I was one of them. When we crossed the airport’s entrance onto the main road, the crowd outside began demanding that Bemba walk with them. That’s when the police started shooting at us with [tear]gas and bullets in the air. I then climbed over the airport fence to find shelter, but I fell on my head and injured myself. Afterward, the other police officers who were inside the airport perimeter started shooting in the air to chase us away. I was forced to jump over the wall again despite my head injury. First-aid workers from the Red Cross eventually came to my rescue and drove me to the hospital.
Later in the day, after Bemba greeted his supporters at his party’s provincial headquarters and left to go to the central Gombe commune, an activist said that the police dispersed Bemba’s supporters with teargas as his motorcade approached:
As we sat on the ground waiting for Bemba’s motorcade to arrive, riot police and regular police jeeps were parked on the side of the road. A message began to circulate that Bemba’s motorcade was leaving his party’s [provincial] headquarters, and the supporters began to mobilize to welcome him. The police then deployed the riot trucks on the road to prevent the crowd from moving forward. As Bemba’s convoy approached, the police started firing teargas. It was a total mess. I saw people running in all directions. Some fell to the ground and were trampled on.
Later that day, police also prevented Bemba from staying in his family residence on Pumbu Avenue in Gombe commune, where most government and UN offices and embassies are located. Bazaiba said she had been informed of that change by Kinshasa’s provincial police commissioner the day before Bemba’s arrival:
General Kasongo told me that it was inconceivable that Senator Bemba dared to reside within 100 meters of the PPRD [ruling] party headquarters and within less than one kilometer from the president’s residence. He said these were orders received from the hierarchy. Bemba had to instead spend his entire visit at an office in the “GB” commercial complex owned by his family.
Kasongo told journalists on August 1: “I received instructions that I must enforce. Bemba can go stay at the Memling [a well-known hotel in Kinshasa] or elsewhere, but not in Pumbu.”
After Bemba filed his candidacy at the electoral commission on August 2, security forces again fired teargas to disperse his supporters.
On August 24, the electoral commission rejected Bemba’s candidacy on the grounds that he had been convicted for witness tampering in a separate ICC case. Congolese law prohibits those found guilty of corruption from running for president. MLC officials have contended that witness tampering does not amount to corruption, and on August 27, Bemba’s lawyers appealed to the Constitutional Court to overturn the decision.
Kinshasa: Sicherheitskräfte setzten Anfang August 2018 Schusswaffen und Tränengas ein, um großteils friedliche Demonstrationen der Opposition aufzulösen; mindestens 2 Tote und mehrere Verletzte; Dutzende Festnahmen
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/28/dr-congo-opposition-under-assault


Home » Forums » Game Design » Game Design Workshop » Axis Mundi Introduction and Playthrough Video - Feedback Wanted
Axis Mundi Introduction and Playthrough Video - Feedback Wanted
37 replies [Last post]
questccg
BHH and Wil Wheaton
Hello Peter,
You can watch the game being played by Wil Wheaton and friends at Geek & Sundry:
https://geekandsundry.com/shows/tabletop/page/6/
There are I believe some interviews too... BHH is on that page and you can click on the correct video to watch the game being played.
Your game is VERY "different". But it reminds me of BHH because of the "Traitor" mechanic where "something" happens and then the game is out-of-whack and players are scrambling to defeat the "Traitor" while trying to ensure that they don't die in the process.
So it's got a 2-Phase system much like Axis Mundi (AM). AM is players race to the middle and one (1) player emerges as an Angel or Demon. And then the play style changes. Well BHH does the exact thing. Except ONE (1) of the players is a Traitor and has lured the others to be sacrificed.
Anyhow no worries about the "ideas". Just wanted to share some insights into how to make the game LESS "abstract" and more defined. I don't expect you to change the entire game. Just pointed out some things to consider.
Hmm... Strange?!?!
It looks like the videos from Geek and Sundry are not working... It's too bad because watching Wil and his friend PLAY the game was really interesting to see and watch. It may be a little longer than a Tom Vasal Dice Tower review... But then again you've made an almost 4 hour long video about your game. It might be reasonable to expect you to watch a 45 - 60 minute playthru video from Wil & co.
I'm very disappointed that the link did not work. Because the video was FUN to watch and (spoiler alert) Wil turns out to be the Traitor who goes on a mad rampage 3/4 the way into the game...!
You can maybe find other playthru videos ... not sure. But one thing for certain the TableTop review would have been the best example to see HOW the game was played and also how I draw some comparison in terms of the overall gameplay.
My apologies for giving you a broken link... I don't know where else you may find a more (or at par) video with sufficient playing to get a REAL feel for the game.
Sincerest apologies.
peterthull
BHH and AM end idea
I found the BHH Geek & Sundry video on YouTube at the following addresses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MINNKyE4fjs (pt. 1) & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgbQwxQIhbw (pt. 2)
Yeah, definitely a different vibe (and gameplay) than I was going for, but interesting (and fun!) design.
Instead of your Angel/Demon vs. Opponents endgame idea, what do you think of the following idea I came up with: the game gradually tips the scales in the Angel/Demon’s favor using a leveling mechanic. The first Angel/Demon has the powers as they are right now. The second Angel/Demon gets a six-card hand limit instead of the normal five. The third Angel/Demon gets the same, plus a Scrounge (retrieving a card of their choice from the discard pile). The fourth gets a seven-card hand limit and a Scrounge. The fifth gets the same seven-card limit and 2 Scrounges, while the sixth automatically wins the game.
A shorter version might be better: the second Angel/Demon gets a 6 card hand limit and a Scrounge, the third gets a 7 card hand limit and 2 Scrounges, and the fourth automatically wins.
Finding a solution versus FUN...
Not sure I understand your Angel/Demon ideas... One thing is to find a solution to "finishing the game" and then there is allowing the players to have "FUN" playing the game.
Right now, from what I have seen is that IF you become an Angel/Demon only YOU can WIN the game. If you are killed, the cycle/race starts anew. THIS is BAD! It will make the game longer and result in players giving up (at some point in time). Don't you think over 3.5 hours is TOO LONG for a game?
The game should be 60 to 90 minutes (on the average).
It's not just a problem that your VIDEO was LONG. The GAME is TOO LONG. That's why I referred you to BHH, because players take their time exploring the House BEFORE the "Traitor" (Climax) is revealed. And then it's either the Traitor wins or the other players win (by surviving).
You do have a TIME/LENGTH of play issue. However I don't think you understand, I referred you to BHH because that game has SOLVED the length of time issue. At first I had my own reservation of BHH... But after watching the AM video, I am positive that BHH does well be "quickly" resolving the game either way: #1. The traitor defeats the other players #2. The players defeat the traitor.
However it happens rather quickly as opposed to the "exploration" of the house (which is generally longer and consumes most of the game time).
You need to FIND ways to "simplify" the game, it's length ... and all the while preserving or "enhancing" replayability. Just because your intro says that a bird comes down to do your bidding, doesn't mean you can't change the story to fit a more diversified crew of familiars.
Anyhow I do want to wish you good luck with your game. But I still think you don't realize that the duration of the game is much too long. And what is paramount is that EVEN YOU didn't finish your own playthru video...
I made a new video, a game "trailer". It's 3 minutes long, and can be found at the same link: https://www.betterliferesources.com/axismundi/
I tried to have it answer all the questions that a sales video would, as mentioned previously by ceethreepio. But I guess I wouldn't consider it a typical sales video, as I have nothing to sell. Its CTA is just to get the right people interested enough keep scrolling.
I know that it was advised to keep a video like this between 30-60 seconds. I think I heard somewhere that the shorter the copy is, the harder it is to write, and I just haven't figured out how to reach that level of brevity yet.
P.S. Thanks questccg for the feedback and well wishes.
Watched 50% of the video...
You need some kind of "co-opetive" style of gameplay IMHO. What this means is that in order to ascend the volcano to the top, players must co-operate but at the same time "compete" against their fellow opponents.
Here's the way I see it (and you can critique all you like — if you find just one nugget of wisdom useful, my job will be done):
1. The original (3:50 Video) first phase of the game was making your way to the Axis Mundi. This was like a RACE, since players start at different locations. During this phase what was observed was that players seem to be separately distant enough to not "enter into melee combat"...
So it's a RACE to the top and ...
2. Next comes the second phase which is the opponents are trying to STOP the player who won the race from escaping the island. This was all about fighting and melee combat, defeating the "demon/angel" was paramount... And so the opponents would co-operate to defeat the "demon/angel". If the "demon/angel" dies, the process restarts anew...
And then it's a RACE to the top AGAIN ...
Clearly you need to work on simplifying the game. Ideally you would want only ONE (1) Phase. And in this one (1) phase IDEALLY you would want to BLEND all the different actions together.
So it could be a RACE to the Axis Mundi ... And the first player who reaches it WINS. That sounds logical.
You need to "extend" the race phase to include more actions and interaction between the players. You CANNOT simply make it a RACE to the top and ... well ... that's it.
You need to change it so that it is EVEN MORE "Puzzle-ish". How... Like I said co-opetive style of play. Instead of bonuses in the crates, you should need to put "special artifacts" that each player requires to make it to the top of the volcano.
For example: the Golden Statuette.
Instead of all kinds of PERK cards for your crates, you choose four (4) cards, which are the "artifacts" and YOU must collect three (3) out of four (4) of them and then race to the Axis Mundi. These are all secret... But the "artifacts" ON THE BOARD are REVEALED. So there is HIDDEN information AND PERFECT information.
But as a player MOVES to get an ARTIFACT, he can be attacked (Melee) to stop him from returning the artifact that he needs to HIS WAREHOUSE.
The DEAL about the Puzzle-ish style of play is when there is contention for one artifact required by 2 players. Then it becomes a RACE to GET IT and to RETURN IT to a warehouse...
So THIS style of gameplay would encourage players to co-operate like make TRADE deals (playing nicely) or dirty stealing (by immobilizing a player with his/her familiar) and then returning that "artifact" to his/her warehouse.
Do you understand how DIFFERENT this style of play is???
But there is something to be said about this style... It's more about travelling the board and avoiding the enemy while getting the artifacts YOU need to make it into the Axis Mundi...
Think about it...
This style of play BLENDS the two (2) phases into ONE! No longer it's about racing to the top and back trying to survive... It's about co-opetive play where you race up and back several times to get the RIGHT artifacts for your warehouse.
Once you have the three (3) of four necessary artifacts in your warehouse, you are crowned the victorious player and leave the island with your booty!
I know ... it's so very different. But I've tried to streamline the game a bit and blend the phase together so players can compete and collaborate too.
Of course feel free to "dig out" any nugget from this and see what could be appropriate for YOUR game. I'm not telling you HOW to design your game, I'm just offering up an "alternative" VISION as to how you put everything TOGETHER and land up with a 60 to 90 minute game time.
Best of luck(!?) with your game @Peter. Hope some of this you find interesting and helps your with ideas about how to "streamline" the game into something more playable.
questccg, thanks for sharing
questccg, thanks for sharing your idea. I took a while to think about it before responding.
I appreciate the thought you put into your “redesign”, for lack of a better word.
The game, as I have designed it, and what I was going for, is a mid to heavy weight, multi-stage competitive race focused on tactics, with 3 primary mechanics: grid movement, hand management, and action selection. The reason I choose this style of game is personal preference, but also for thematic reasons – to pay homage to S’s plot and theme on a straight-forward and symbolic level.
The ideas you are proposing, as I understand them, would make it into a cooperative pick-up and deliver game with set collection and negotiation as the primary mechanisms. Those seem like two entirely different games to me. Perhaps yours would be the better game – I can’t say. What I can say is that I am exhausted, and I’m not sure that I could re-build this game from the ground up, even if I wanted to.
I am not convinced that the multi-stages of the race are “bad”. I think the game’s transition from being cooperative to competitive makes the co-op phase fraught with tension, because you can never commit to being fully cooperative with an opponent that would actually benefit from stabbing you in the back if they could get away with it, so it leads to opportunities for betrayal. In addition, it adds to the game’s tactics: not only do you need to think about defeating the Angel/Demon, but also not getting caught with your pants down when you do.
I am also not convinced that the game is too long. You asked, “Don’t you think 3.5 hours is too long for a game?” For most board games, yes. But some games can be so epic as to warrant long playtimes (see Twilight Imperium). As for Axis Mundi, I am adjusting the rules to make the game end after 3 Angel/Demon cycles. Maybe that will be a good length. I haven’t playtested it yet, but I think with that adjustment it will be at most a 3-hour game, assuming no analysis paralysis. I estimate that if a game was played quickly, or with a victory in the first cycle, a game could be finished in under an hour. Keep in mind, the playthrough video was 3 and a half hours long because it explained all the rules and tactics in detail. Obviously, a regular game moves much faster.
I am not saying you are wrong in your analysis, I would just like more people’s opinions to give me more data points.
You stated…“[You didn’t] even...finish your own playthrough” I ended the playthrough because it was getting really long and because I figured I had already put enough work into it. If I had continued, it would have demonstrated the endgame, which has new tactics for both the Angel/Demon and their opponents. It becomes a game of cat and mouse around Cave, Power, and Warehouse Hexes. The board’s layout is designed for this and I think it makes for a dramatic ending.
Again, thank you. Your thoughts are appreciated and your ideas are very interesting. It’s very helpful to me to get a fresh take on my project.


Books from Finland - A literary journal of writing from and about Finland.
Vesa Oja
Findians, Finglish, Finntowns
16 May 2013 | Extracts, Non-fiction
Workers, miners, loggers, idealists, communists, utopians: early last century numerous Finns left for North America to find their fortune, settling down in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario. Some 800,000 of their descendants now live around the continent, but the old Finntowns have disappeared, and Finglish is fading away – that amusing language cocktail: äpylipai, apple pie.
The 375th anniversary of the arrival of the first Finnish and Swedish settlers, in Delaware, was celebrated on 11 May. Photographer Vesa Oja has met hundreds of American Finns over eight years; the photos and stories are from his new book, Finglish. Finns in North America
Drinking with the workmen: The Työmies Bar. Superior, Wisconsin, USA (2007)
The Työmies Bar is located in the former printing house of the Finnish leftist newspaper, Työmies (‘The workman’). The owners, however, don’t know what this Finnish word means, or how to pronounce it.
The Työmies Society, which published the newspaper of the same name, Työmies, was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1903 as a socialist organ. It moved to Hancock, Michigan the following year.
Partly as a result of the hostile climate prevailing in Hancock, partly because of the failure of the copper strike of 1913–1914, the newspaper was moved to Superior, Wisconsin in 1914. In 1950 Työmies, by then a Communist newspaper, was merged with another Communist organ, Eteenpäin (‘Forwards’), in Yonkers, New York, to create Työmies-Eteenpäin. It continued to be published from Superior, Wisconsin into 1995.
Finnish American Reporter, which began as an insert to Työmies-Eteenpäin in 1986, was intentionally created as an English-language newspaper for all Finns without political or religious affiliation – so it is a separate paper from Työmies-Eteenpäin. In 2000, the Finnish American Reporter and all its assets were signed over by the Työmies Society to Suomi College (Finlandia University), which used to be the Työmies Society’s bitter enemy.
Former glory: Quincy Mine, Hancock, Michigan, USA (2005). Photo: Vesa Oja
Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Hancock was a center for the Copper Country Finns in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Keweenaw was known among the Finns as Kuparisaari (Copper Island) and there were many mining towns and logging sites there. A great number of Finns worked in the mines throughout the heyday of the mining industry. In the early days, the Finns called Hancock ‘Amerikan Lappi’ (The Lapland of America).
Dating from 1896, Suomi College (present-day Finlandia University) was founded and led by Finnish clergymen to give local young people a chance for higher education and a better life. One of the core missions of Suomi College was to train Lutheran clergymen. English was also taught there. Pastor Rudolf Kemppainen playfully called Suomi College ‘the Finnish shoe factory’, because it produced so many pairs (married couples).
The Finnish American Heritage Center & Historical Archive at Finlandia University is the present-day hub of local Finnish American activities, as well as one of the larger repositories of Finnish American archival materials and art. The monthly Finnish American Reporter is published in Hancock.
Still swimming: Finn Camp, Wixom, Michigan, USA (2010). Photo: Vesa Oja
Between Loon Lake and Sun Lake there is a narrow, boggy isthmus where the Finns of the 14th Street Hall in Detroit established the Detroit Finnish Co-operative Summer Camp Association and its resort site.
At first, in the 1920s, families spent the summer here in tents while the men went to work in the city. The area was gradually developed, with a sauna and pier first, followed by a diving tower. The swimming site is warmly remembered – regardless of political affiliation. A dance hall and a sports ground were later built volunteers.
The athletics field was built on boggy ground, which had to be filled with wrecked cars. Golf, baseball and football were played; the Voima athletics club is still active. There were several outdoor dance floors, because the venues had to be changed according to the mosquito situation. There were weekly dances and theatrical performances in the hall. The tents were replaced by small cabins, which finally numbered over a hundred.
Utopia deserted: Sointula, British Columbia, Canada (2006). Photo: Vesa Oja
Matti Kurikka was a charismatic Finnish Labour leader whom the local Finnish miners invited to lead an association on Malcolm Island, northeast of Vancouver island, at the beginning of the 20th century. At first, 150 people settled there, braving severe conditions to create a new future as a utopian community named Sointula. The settlers, who called themselves the People of Kaleva, and elected as their leader Matti Kurikka, who instilled faith in their opportunities, even though the land was almost untillable.
Within a few years, the extremely difficult conditions, a fire that destroyed the colony’s dormitory and bad luck with finances undermined Kurikka’s position as leader. His ideas on gender equality spread outside the community and were thought to advocate the sharing of wives. Finally, unsuccessful bridge-building ventures on the mainland wrecked trust in Kurikka’s leadership, and he was forced to leave the island.
After Kurikka and his supporters left the island following the utopian experiment, new livelihoods began to evolve in Sointula from fishing, boat building and logging. There are still some 200 descendants of the Finns on the island, of whom approximately 40 speak Finnish. In the late 1960s, young Americans avoiding the war in Vietnam moved to the island, which became an interesting mixture of the descendants of Finnish utopian socialists and American hippies.
A Findian: Aliina Charging Hawk, Duluth, Minnesota, USA (2011). Photo: Vesa Oja
Aliina studies chemistry and pharmacy at the University of Duluth. She misses, however, the Deer River and the nearby Leech Lake Indian Reservation, where her 13- and 3-year-old children are waiting for her. She feels lost in the city in other ways, too.
She worked for eight years in a casino, but went on to study, because she wants to become a pharmacist. She also wants to help the people of the reservation.
Aliina is a Findian; her father is Sioux-Lakota and her mother is of Finnish ancestry.
Finn Creek: Raymond Bentley, New York Mills, Minnesota, USA (2011). Photo: Vesa Oja
Raymond Bentley’s grandmother’s place, the old Tapio farm, is now the Finn Creek Open Air Museum. His mother was born there, the daughter of Siffert from Jurva, and Wilhelmiina, from Ii in Northern Finland. They were granted the homestead in 1900.
Raymond Bentley’s parents were Norman and Tekla Bentley. The father’s family was originally named Penttilä. One of Raymond’s nephews recently changed his name back to Penttilä.
Raymond (85) spent his whole working life as a first mate of an iron freighter on the Great Lakes. He would sail seven days a week from Marquette to Cleveland and Buffalo; his only longer holidays at home were at Christmas time. Now in retirement, he volunteers at the Finn Creek Museum.
Homeward bound: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada (2011). Photo: Vesa Oja
Sontiainen is an amusing, intriguing and tragic story of homesickness. The unfortunate Tom Sukanen had lost his family. Studying the map [in the 1940s], he noticed he could return to Finland by ship from the middle of Canada. The vessel would first have to be dragged 17 miles to a river leading to the Arctic Ocean and from there back home to Finland. The boat was fitted out for Sukanen and his horse.
Sukanen never managed to get the vessel to the river. He now lies buried next to his boat, Sontiainen (Finnish for ‘dung beetle’)
Finglish. Finns in North America. Pohjois-Amerikan suomalaisia
The stories behind the photos: Päivi Oja
Helsinki: Musta Taide / Aalto ARTS Books, 2013. 239 p., ill.
Graphic design: Jorma Hinkka, Graafiset Neliöt Oy
English translation: Jüri Kokkonen
The exhibition Finglish is open until 28 July at the Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki.
Tags: cultural history, history, photography
Mia Halonen
22 May 2013 on 11:53 am
Thank you, this is so interesting! Many present day Finns don’t know anything about the rich history of Finnish Americans.
Al Holmes
23 May 2013 on 4:41 pm
I am a descendent one of those Finns who migrated to North America in the early 1900’s. My grandfather, Lauri Halonen, came to Northern Ontario to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He moved to a small town on the north shore of Lake Superior, Schreiber. He and my grandmother Maria (Sirkka) had several children, who in turn had several children and so on. The Halonen family in Canada and the US is now a large and dispersed group with its own website, http://www.halonenfamily.org. Visit us.
gloria walden
23 June 2013 on 6:13 pm
I would like to know how to purchase a copy of the book Finglish by Vesa Oja.
Soila Lehtonen
try the Academic Bookstore in Helsinki:
https://akateeminen.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/akateeminencom-akasales
Anna-Liisa Raatikainen
1 February 2016 on 4:53 am
I find these stories interesting. Wish I would know where to find more information about us Finns in Canada and USA. One thing I must admit is that I have not, intentionally, learned Finglish, although know it quite well – “Kyllä meellä on kolomen petiruuma houssi, yks niistä upsteella. Ja kahen auton kraatsi. Karpitsit pittää viijä highwain varteen.” Someone gave me a book in Finglish and I find it fascinating to read.
I came to Canada in 1968 so I am a very new Finn abroad, and was fortunate, through internet, find relatives from my father’s side in Montana, Minnesota and Michigan. I am a Canadian Finn!
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The Editors: Positive fools (This 'n' that)
The Editors: American Girl goes America (In the news)
The Editors: More light! Mehr Licht! (In the news)
Vesa Oja (born 1953) is a photojournalist who lives in Helsinki. His previous book, Toinen Eurooppa (‘The other Europe’), consisting of photos taken during the Bosnian war, was published in 1999.
© Writers and translators. Anyone wishing to make use of material published on this website should apply to the Editors.
Books from Finland, PO Box 259, FI-00171 Helsinki, Finland


Business News and World News
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For Prince Harry, No Special Treatment in Canada
January 14, 2020 by Our Review Site
OTTAWA — Queen Elizabeth II may have blessed plans by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, to become part-time residents of Canada, but the monarch’s status as the country’s formal head of state doesn’t mean the couple can expect any special treatment on many fronts.
When it comes to immigration, taxation and even what they call themselves, Harry and Meghan will be no different from any other newcomers to Canada.
But one area where they could receive unique consideration is their personal security.
The couple, known formally as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have offered little detail about their plans, including where they intend to live in Canada, how much of their time they will spend in the country and how they plan to become independent of funds set aside by Britain for its royals.
But when they do make their move, the duke and duchess won’t get a V.I.P. pass through immigration.
“There are no provisions in the Citizenship Act that confer Canadian citizenship status to members of the royal family,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a government department, said in a statement. “In order to become legal permanent residents of Canada, they would need to apply through our normal immigration processes.”
The statement added, “However, members of the royal family are not required to seek authorization to come to and stay in Canada as visitors.”
Experts in Canadian immigration law suggested that to avoid a number of complexities, the couple would be just visiting rather than calling Canada home.
For example, many of the ways to get permanent residency in Canada require applicants to have specialized skills or high levels of education. Prince Harry trained as a military officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, but he does not have a university degree, which lawyers said would be a major stumbling block for him.
“I doubt very much they would apply for permanent residency,” said Sergio R. Karas, an immigration lawyer in Toronto. “That would not be a good option for them.”
As visitors, the couple can remain in Canada for up to six months without any sort of special visa. The catch, however, is they wouldn’t be able to work in the country, where coins and $20 bills bear likenesses of the queen, if that is indeed part of their financial freedom plan.
Helen Park, an immigration lawyer with the Dentons law firm in Vancouver, British Columbia, said that while they couldn’t seek employment, they could manage businesses based outside Canada while there as visitors.
If they decide to seek residency with the right to work in the country, there are several possible channels they could explore of varying difficulty and plausibility.
The easiest, but perhaps least likely, avenue would be for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s immigration minister to grant them residency on “compassionate grounds.”
“But is Harry going to say, ‘My grandmother is chasing me out of England’?” Mr. Karas said.
The government, Ms. Park said, could also declare them to be people of significant economic social or cultural benefit to Canada — a measure commonly used for prominent scientists, artists or literary figures.
Either form of queue cutting might prompt a political backlash.
While Canada is generally welcoming to immigrants, the process is expensive and time-consuming for many of them. As a result, many recent immigrants might resent any jumping in line by the royal couple.
Also, a large percentage of new Canadians include people from places like India, where the British monarchy is still strongly associated with colonial repression by some people.
The duchess of Sussex’s past life in Canada could, in theory, also provide the couple a way into Canada as residents.
An American, she lived in Toronto for several years while filming the American television legal drama “Suits,” when she was known as Meghan Markle. While her immigration status during that time is not public information, Canada has a special visa provision for actors working on foreign film and television productions in the country.
Ms. Park said some of her actor clients had used their time in the country to obtain residency. If — and Ms. Park noted that it’s a big if — Meghan took that step, she could then sponsor Harry for residency.
Regardless of their immigration status, the couple may face tax issues in Canada. Heather L. Evans, the executive director of the Canadian Tax Foundation, a research group, said there was no hard and fast rule for determining who is a resident for tax purposes. Instead, she said, “individual facts and circumstances are important, especially in cases of dual residents.”
Courts, she said, have found that in some cases, people who spend less than half of the year in Canada are still residents for taxation purposes.
Even murkier is the status of the duke and duchess’s royal titles if they make Canada home. In 1919, Canada’s Parliament put an end to citizens and residents being able to accept noble titles from Britain with a resolution that was affirmed twice more, as recently as 1988.
Conrad M. Black, the former press baron, had to give up his Canadian citizenship to become Baron Black of Crossharbour. There is, however, no precedent for how the resolution, which some argue is of limited legal force, would apply to a member of the royal family moving to Canada.
While royal visits to Canada, with the notable exception of appearances by Prince Charles, draw large and enthusiastic crowds, the idea of members of the British royal family moving into the country has already met some resistance. On Tuesday, The Globe and Mail, a Toronto-based newspaper that historically has been supportive of the monarchy, published a lengthy editorial urging the government to tell the couple they can’t move to Canada.
“You are welcome to visit, but so long as you are senior royals, Canada cannot allow you to come to stay,” the newspaper said. “A royal living in this country does not accord with the longstanding nature of the relationship between Canada and Britain, and Canada and the Crown.”
In a country where there is sometimes grousing about the cost of security for the prime minister, the question of who will pay to protect Harry, Meghan and their son, Archie, has been widely raised. On Monday, Mr. Trudeau said that was one of many questions that remain to be resolved.
“We are obviously supportive of their reflections but have responsibilities in that as well,” he said, referring to security. “We’re not entirely sure what the final decisions will be.”
Currently, Canada covers the cost of the security provided to the couple by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police because Harry and Meghan’s official status in Britain makes them “internationally protected persons” under Canadian law. Kent Roach, a professor of law at the University of Toronto, said that after withdrawing from official life, Meghan and Harry would lose that status.
But citing news media estimates that their annual security cost will be about 2 million Canadian dollars, or about $1.5 million, Mr. Roach anticipates that the government-funded guard will remain.
“Strict legal definitions will in the end not matter that much in this matter, especially if the cost of protection is, as reported, less than $2 million,” he said. “Canada has received that much worth in good press already.”
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THE BATTLE OF VITTORIO VENETO, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1918
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Men of the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders (20th Brigade, 7th Division) escorting Austro-Hungarian prisoners across a pontoon bridge over the river Piave, near Salettuol, November 1918.
First World War (production), First World War (content)
Brooks, Ernest (Lieutenant) (Photographer)
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British Army, Gordon Highlanders
British Army, Gordon Highlanders, 2nd Battalion
Austro-Hungarian Army
Italian Front 1915-1918, First World War
Battle of Vittorio Veneto 1918, Italian Front 1915-1918, First World War
Salettuol, Maserada sul Piave, Treviso, Veneto, Italy
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How did people share their cultures and traditions during the First World War?
First World War Recruitment Posters


33 Good Story Prompts
Home » Creative Writing » Story Prompts to Inspire Middle School Writers
Many students begin making up their own stories when they are young and full of imagination. But as kids grow up, their creativity is sometimes stifled—and not encouraged as it should be.
Fortunately, journaling is a powerful way to keep kids thinking, dreaming, and creating even as they age. Encouraging your students to write creatively in their journals (rather than simply recording their daily activities) is an even more wonderful way to incite their imaginations.
In these 33 good story prompts for middle school students, your class will receive fresh ideas and characters to develop and explore. Each prompt can easily be turned into a brief short story or expanded on in a longer work of fiction. With topics ranging from a family’s first day with their brand new dog to the amazing things and people an old innkeeper has seen over the years, your students can practice their writing while also thinking deeply about other people and their lived experiences.
Use these brand new story prompts with your middle school students to spark their imaginations!
33 Good Story Prompts to Inspire Creativity in Your Middle School Students
Write a story about a scientist who discovers a new planet.
Write a story about an abandoned playground—and the kids who want to save it.
Write a story about an alternate world where tweens and teens are in charge and make all the rules.
Write a story about a snowstorm that shuts down the whole town.
Write a story about an old innkeeper who has seen all sorts of guests over the years.
Write a story about a young boy whose bad habit ends up saving the day.
Write a story about a family’s first day with their newly adopted dog.
Write a story about a mountain-climber who has just made the ultimate climb.
Write a story about a bridge that leads to nowhere.
Write a story about a group of kids who get stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel.
Write a story about a special garden where people always go to think.
Write a story about a group of competitive horseback riders.
Write a story about a young student who makes it big in the world of professional video games.
Write a story about a group of young soldiers.
Write a story about a family that receives a large, anonymous check in the mail one day.
Write a story about your grandmother as a young girl.
Write a story about a group of friends that stumbles upon a time capsule buried in one of their backyards.
Write a story about an athlete who gets caught fixing a game.
Write a story about a young teen who loses her cell phone—and goes on a series of adventures to get it back before her parents find out.
Write a story about a doctor with a patient that no one can diagnose.
Write a story about a pirate ship that ends up in a very unexpected location.
Write a story that serves as a sequel to a popular children’s fairytale.
Write a story about a young astronaut’s first trip to space.
Write a story about a tree that is 1,000 years old.
Write a story about two best friends who are having a big fight.
Write a story about a troll who enters and wins a beauty pageant with the help of some friends.
Write a story about a class field trip to the White House.
Write a story about a truly unforgettable birthday party.
Write a story about a young girl who takes up an unusual hobby: archery.
Write a story about an actor who has just been nominated for a prestigious award.
Write a story about a family who travels to the ocean every year.
Write a story about two friends who reconnect after many years apart.
Write a story about a young boy who is getting ready to begin high school early at the age of 12.
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The UN Plans To Implement Universal Biometric Identification For All Of Humanity
End Times and Current Events > Forum > General Category > End Times > The Mark > The UN Plans To Implement Universal Biometric Identification For All Of Humanity
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The UN Plans To Implement Universal Biometric Identification For All Of Humanity By 2030
Did you know that the United Nations intends to have biometric identification cards in the hands of every single man, woman and child on the entire planet by the year 2030? And did you know that a central database in Geneva, Switzerland will be collecting data from many of these cards? Previously, I have written about the 17 new “Global Goals” that the UN launched at the end of September. Even after writing several articles about these new Global Goals, I still don’t think that most of my readers really grasp how insidious they actually are. This new agenda truly is a template for a “New World Order”, and if you dig into the sub-points for these new Global Goals you find some very alarming things.
For example, Goal 16.9 sets the following target…
“By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration”
The United Nations is already working hard toward the implementation of this goal – particularly among refugee populations. The UN has partnered with Accenture to implement a biometric identification system that reports information “back to a central database in Geneva”. The following is an excerpt from an article that was posted on findbiometrics.com…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is moving forward with its plans to use biometric technology to identify and track refugees, and has selected a vendor for the project. Accenture, an international technology services provider, has won out in the competitive tendering process and will oversee the implementation of the technology in a three-year contract.
The UNHCR will use Accenture’s Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS) for the endeavor. BIMS can be used to collect facial, iris, and fingerprint biometric data, and will also be used to provide many refugees with their only form of official documentation. The system will work in conjunction with Accenture’s Unique Identity Service Platform (UISP) to send this information back to a central database in Geneva, allowing UNHCR offices all over the world to effectively coordinate with the central UNHCR authority in tracking refugees.
I don’t know about you, but that sure does sound creepy to me.
And these new biometric identification cards will not just be for refugees. According to a different FindBiometrics report, authorities hope this technology will enable them to achieve the UN’s goal of having this kind of identification in the hands of every man, woman and child on the planet by the year 2030…
A report synopsis notes that about 1.8 billion adults around the world currently lack any kind of official documentation. That can exclude those individuals from access to essential services, and can also cause serious difficulties when it comes to trans-border identification.
That problem is one that Accenture has been tackling in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which has been issuing Accenture-developed biometric identity cards to populations of displaced persons in refugee camps in Thailand, South Sudan, and elsewhere. The ID cards are important for helping to ensure that refugees can have access to services, and for keeping track of refugee populations.
Moreover, the nature of the deployments has required an economically feasible solution, and has demonstrated that reliable, biometric ID cards can affordably be used on a large scale. It offers hope for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of getting legal ID into the hands of everyone in the world by the year 2030 with its Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative.
The Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative was originally launched by the World Bank, and they are proud to be working side by side with the UN to get “legal identity” into the hands of all. The following comes from the official website of the World Bank…
Providing legal identity for all (including birth registration) by 2030 is a target shared by the international community as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (target 16.9). The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched the Identification for Development (ID4D) cross-practice initiative, with the participation of seven GP/CCSAs sharing the same vision and strategic objectives, to help our client countries achieve this goal and with the vision of making everyone count: ensure a unique legal identity and enable digital ID-based services to all.
Of course all of this is being framed as a “humanitarian” venture right now, but will it always stay that way?
At some point will a universal biometric ID be required for everyone, including you and your family?
And what would happen if you refused to take it?
I could definitely foresee a day when not having “legal identification” would disqualify you from holding a job, getting a new bank account, applying for a credit card, qualifying for a mortgage, receiving any form of government payments, etc. etc.
At that point, anyone that refused to take a “universal ID” would become an outcast from society.
What the elite want to do is to make sure that everyone is “in the system”. And it is a system that they control and that they manipulate for their own purposes. That is one of the reasons why they are slowly but surely discouraging the use of cash all over the world.
In Sweden, this movement has already become so advanced that they are now pulling ATMs out of even the most rural locations…
The Swedish government abetted by its fractional-reserve banking system is moving relentlessly toward a completely cashless economy. Swedish banks have begun removing ATMs even in remote rural areas, and according to Credit Suisse the rule of thumb in Scandinavia is “If you have to pay in cash, something is wrong.” Since 2009 the average annual value of notes and coins in circulation in Sweden has fallen more than 20 percent from over 100 billion to 80 billion kronor. What is driving this movement to destroy cash is the desire to unleash the Swedish central bank to drive the interest rate down even further into negative territory. Currently, it stands at -0.35 percent, but the banks have not passed this along to their depositors, because depositors would simply withdraw their cash rather than leave it in banks and watch its amount shrink inexorably toward zero. However, if cash were abolished and bank deposits were the only form of money, well then there would be no limit on negative interest rate policy as banks would be able to pass these negative interest rates onto their depositors without adverse consequences. With everyone’s wages, salaries, dividends etc, paid by direct deposit into his bank account, the only way to escape negative interest rates would be to spend, spend, spend. This, of course, is precisely what the Keynesian economists advising governments and running central banks are aiming at….a pro-cash resistance movement is beginning to coalesce and the head of a security industry lobbying group relates, “I’ve heard of people keeping cash in their microwaves because banks won’t accept it.”
If you aren’t using cash, that means that all of your economic activity is going through the banks where it can be watched, tracked, monitored and regulated.
Every time the elite propose something for our “good”, it somehow always results in them having more power and more control.
I hope that people will wake up and see what is happening. Major moves toward a one world system are taking place right in front of our eyes, and yet I hear very, very few people talking about any of this.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-un-plans-to-implement-universal-biometric-identification-for-all-of-humanity-by-2030


What Does Facebook Know About You Really?
Over the last couple of years, Facebook has come under intense scrutiny over how much data it collects on its users, and how it re-purposes that information, primarily for advertising. But what, really, does Facebook actually know about you, and how can such info be used to, potentially, influence your thinking and consideration? Is that even possible?
This a core issue at the center of the current Facebook data debate - while more and more reports emerge which demonstrate the depth of information Facebook can collect, the next stage is less clear, there's less context for users to understand the potential impacts of such. So what if Facebook logs data on the Pages you visit, that likely just means you'll see more relevant ads, right? So what if Facebook tracks your usage habits to show you more content you'll like?
In a general sense, for the common person, this doesn't mean anything, which is why Facebook usage hasn't appeared to change in any significant way despite such reports.
But it's that context that people really need - users need to have a greater understanding of the processes at play, and how Facebook's systems are able to do more than just show you ads for products you might want to buy. On further inspection, they can actually shape your opinions, without you even knowing it.
And that is critically important to note.
Learning You
As has been well documented, Facebook uses a vast array of tools to track your interests, habits and preferences - both on Facebook's platforms and off them.
On the platforms themselves (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger), Facebook logs every action you take, every post you like, every Page and profile you visit. Those insights are also combined with your profile data, your location info - every single thing you enter or do on Facebook's apps contributes a little more to your personal profile, building out a broader data log of who you are, what you like, etc.
And that profile can be very accurate - the most highly-cited research report on this was conducted by experts from The University of Cambridge and Stanford University back in 2015, in which they examined the Facebook profiles of more than 86,000 participants, and then matched their on-platform data against their psychological profiles, which those users had submitted through a 'personality test' app.
Their key finding? Your Facebook activity data alone could indicate your psychological make-up more accurately than your friends, your family - better even than your partner, given enough info.
As you can see in this chart, the accuracy of the model's predictions increases based on how many things a person has 'liked' on Facebook, giving the system more information to measure. That study was conducted around five years ago, so you can only imagine the same model would be even more accurate today.
The implications of this are significant - as highlighted by Cambridge Analytica, which utilized a very similar process in its data-gathering efforts, once you have a measure of people's leanings, you can also use that against them.
Former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie explained:
"We would know what kinds of messaging [users] would be susceptible to, including the framing of it, the topics, the content, the tone, whether it's scary or not, that kind of thing. So, what you would be susceptible to, and where you're going to consume that. And then how many times do we need to touch you with that in order to change how you think about something.'
This is information warfare at the highest level - and when you also consider that around two-thirds of American adults (68%) now get at least some of their daily news content from social media, with Facebook being the prime social media news source by a big margin, that's a big concern.
It's not just the ads you see, but the information you're shown - and while Facebook is now working to address this in various ways, you can see how the additional context of what such insights can be used for is significant.
And it's not just on Facebook itself that's a concern.
Advanced Tracking
Facebook also tracks people when they're not on Facebook, and those who've never even signed up. And worth noting, Facebook's not alone in this, Google, for example, tracks similar data, but Facebook's insights have seen more misuse, and the pure size and usage of its platforms make it a more viable candidate for such actions.
In terms of tracking people off Facebook, researchers Frederike Kaltheuner and Christopher Weatherhead recently outlined the various ways in which Google and Facebook track Android users through the use of pixels which are designed to help advertisers gather data on app usage.
Advertisers may use these data tracking tools in their systems in order to track who's using their apps, and that data is taken in and stored, even if those people are not active users of either Google's or Facebook's tools.
"...the vast majority of apps share data the second they're opened, and the data that's being transmitted indicates what kinds of apps you use, when you use them, combined with a unique ad ID. And knowing what kinds of apps somebody uses, and when, can give quite a detailed picture of someone's life."
Kaltheuner provided an example using just four highly downloaded apps - 'Qibla Connect', which is a Muslim prayer app, 'Period Tracker Clue' which tracks menstruation cycles, job search app 'Indeed', and the kids app 'Talking Tom' (each of these apps has been downloaded at least 10 million times).
"That looks like a person who is likely Muslim, likely female, likely looking for a job and who likely has a child."
So even if you're not an active user of these specific platforms, they know a lot about you.
Another recent study further underlines this capacity - a combined academic team from the University of Vermont and the University of Adelaide has found that even if you're not a user of a social media platform, it's possible to create a 95% accurate profile of you, based on your friends' accounts.
"[The research team] found it was able to predict the content of a person's tweets using data collected from just eight of their contacts, and to do so as accurately as if they were looking at that person's own Twitter feed."
From this, the team could accurately predict a person's political leanings, favorite products, religious beliefs - all without these users ever even participating in social media themselves. And this is without the advanced psychological profiling used by the groups noted earlier in this post.
Not only is social media data collection concerning, it's also seemingly inescapable. And it'll likely continue to be used for ill-purpose for some time yet.
This needs to be a key issue of focus in the connected age, a core debate that has to be had. It may not seem immediately harmful, it may not change much in your day-to-day life. But the understanding that your perception of the world - especially in a political sense - could be largely manipulated is surely of relevant concern.
And that element is largely beyond debate - while there's no way of knowing exactly what impact the work of Cambridge Analytica had on the eventual outcome of the 2016 US Presidential Election, previous research, conducted by Facebook itself, has shown that on-platform efforts can influence election outcomes.
According to a Facebook study published in 2010, a single election-day Facebook message resulted in around 340,000 extra voters turning out to take part in the US Congressional elections that year. The experiment used two different types of News Feed prompts - one included a link to information about local polling places and a counter showing the total Facebook users who'd voted. The other showed the same, but with the addition of images of a users' personal connections who'd participated.
People who saw the second message were increasingly likely to vote themselves, resulting in a big increase in voter turnout. The scale of the test was limited, with only a small portion of Facebook users seeing the prompt. But it shows, according to Facebook's own research, that the platform can influence political outcomes.
It may not feel significant, what you like on Facebook, what you share. The content that you see and comment on within your feed. But it actually is. That's why Facebook has sought to focus on showing you more content from friends and family, because that content is, theoretically, less manipulative than the material shared on potentially biased political Pages and the like.
Because now, given the coverage of the recent political events, every bad actor knows that Facebook can be utilized for such purpose, and all of them are considering how they can do the same.
Will that make you use Facebook less? Probably not. Again, the stats show that Facebook usage has remained stable amid the various reports, people are either unconcerned, or Facebook is simply too ingrained in their interactive process to give up.
But even if you think that you're aware, that your political beliefs are solid, that your understanding of certain issues is correct, just take a moment to question the logic behind what you see. Research a little, dig a bit deeper. Use Facebook's new tools, like its Page info data option, which shows where Pages are being managed from, the Page's history and the ads it's running.
Controlling how our data is used, and misused, may now be beyond our control, but we can all ensure that misinformation is further limited by questioning what we see, and reporting what's not right.
And given the stakes, such efforts may be crucial to maintaining democracy as we know it.
Filed Under: Social Marketing