Miracle In Salem

The state of TIAH

June 10th, 2006

in 1692, Bridget Bishop, a young woman of the Salem township in Massachusetts, is taken to the gallows to be executed on charges of witchcraft. With the noose around her neck, Bishop cries out to God to save her and punish those who are about to murder her. When the trapdoor of the gallows opens, the support beam holding Miss Bishop breaks, letting her drop harmlessly to the ground. The beam falls on Justice William Stoughton and Reverend Samuel Parris, who were standing on the platform to watch Bishop's death, and cracks open their heads, killing them both. Shocked by this apparent miracle, the village frees Miss Bishop and decides that impressionable little children might not be the best of witnesses against evil, after all.

in 1966, the Hays Office orders Warner Brothers to make substantial changes in their film adaptation of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? or face harsh penalties from the censorship board. Reluctantly, Warner Brothers agrees to the changes over the objections of stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and the tepid result, bereft of the colorful language and sexual situations of Albee's play, garnered little box office and much critical disappointment. “If they'd left in the good stuff,” Ms. Taylor said, “we'd have made enough money to not worry about the fines.” Taylor and Burton decided that the Hays Office needed to be challenged, and released their controversial Home Movie the next year without review by the censors. This highly provocative independent film contained language and situations that would have given Hays a heart attack, and there was even a brief glimpse of Taylor's breasts and Burton's buttocks. It not only broke box office records, but also the power of the Hays Office over Hollywood's film makers.

in 2017, the Quorato, the alien vessel that the human crew of the Eagle find themselves guests on, takes aboard the golden device that had transported them here. Commander Patterson and her crew take a good look at it in the light of the Quorato's cargo bay. The Quarai crew of the alien vessel also take a look. Captain Kikao asks a few specialists to examine the device. “These guys, they very good,” Kikao tells Commander Patterson. “No worries, they figure this thing out.” Patterson nods, then warns, “Just don't activate it again. There's no telling where we'd end up from here.” The alien captain looked almost eager to try. “That would be something, wouldn't it?” Patterson immediately regretted telling the captain, because the aliens began working all over the device, obviously looking for a way to turn it on. “Oh, well. How much farther can we go?” She turns back to her own crew, and a couple of them look like they share the Quarai's curiosity about activating the device, but are restraining themselves out of courtesy to her. She sighs, then says, “Go ahead.” They join the alien press around the device, trying to figure out what it does, how it works, and where it might send them if activated again.

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Trials

In 1945, in Germany a day before he was due to return to the United States, General George Smith Patton, Jr. narrowly escaped severely injured in a road accident. He and his chief of staff, Major General Hobart R. 'Hap' Gay, were on a day trip to hunt pheasants in the country outside Mannheim. Their 1939 Cadillac Model 75 was driven by PFC Horace Woodring. Patton sat in the back seat, on the right with General Gay on his left, as per custom. At 11:45 near Neckarstadt, (Käfertal), a 2½ ton truck driven by T/5 Robert L. Thompson appeared out of the haze and made a left-hand turn towards a side road. The Cadillac smashed into the truck. Woodring was thrown forward and his head struck a metal part of the partition between the front and back seats. Patton and Gay were uninjured. Paralyzed from the neck down, Woodring died of an embolism on December 21, 1945 at the military hospital in Heidelberg, Germany with his wife present. In a shadowy series of events that have never been properly explained by the military, Patton was subsequently appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe. His former boss Eisenhower resigned in disgrace over an affair with a British Staff Officer, Kay Summersby. Speculation persists to this day that Eisenhower had orchestrated the road accident as a pre-emptive Draft Ike political assassination. The case remains open and the controversy continues.

In 1976, in record stores across North America, copies of the Eagle's “Hotel California” sold out just twenty-four hours after its release by the Eagles, going on to sell over 16 million copies in the United States alone between late 1976 and early 1977. The title song "Hotel California" reached number #1 on US billboards on May 7, 1977. Obviously vocalist Don Henley would not receive a cent from the sales. He and the rest of the band had been on the missing persons list for two months. Ever since they had departed Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico for the second time.

Snake Eyes	In 1965, the famous UFO incident of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, USA occurred. A large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. Amongst the casualties of the alien space ship crash was the strange being known as Snake Eyes. Many of the innermost secrets of the Kennedy assassination were buried with him that day in Pennsylvania.

In 2046, Shortly after midnight the world's first child of dual planetary heritage was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The human and newcomer couple who had conceived the child were to face an emotional roller-coast. Vital indicators see-sawed all day as surgeons fought to save the one-day old life of Y'Skakir-R. The surgeons had no text book to prepare for the procedure, and had to rely upon combined best practice in human and newcomer birthing methodologies. They were writing the book on ObstETrics.	Cedars-Sinai

Hitler	In 1946, on this day the "Trials of War Criminals before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals" began with the "Doctors' Trial". Prosecuting doctors were charged with a conspiracy to kill the Fuhrer. Aware of his lycanthropy, they had been increasing a supplement of silver since 1941 causing his arm to shake uncontrollably behind his back. The Fuhrer had been deceived over his physical decline, mistakenly believing he had entered the period of languishing.

In 2005, deep sleeper of the government of (censored) seize Richard S. “Kinky” Friedman. However, he convincingly denies any knowledge of Rat saying “If he ain't a Texan, I ain't got time for him."	Kinky

In 1965, this day is famous for the UFO incident of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, USA. A large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. In fact Kecksburg was the second and final attempt to land an exploratory mission in North America by the non-proliferation committee for the Congress of Worlds. Both Kecksburg and the earlier mission to Roswell, New Mexico had of course been betrayed by the very member of the committee who had leaked nuclear technology to the US Government in the first place.

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In 1994, the UN Weapons Inspectors in south-eastern Iraq plot make a sensational discovery. A large arsenal of Scud missiles containing monsterous arachnid eggs are found at the nuclear reactor site at Osirak.

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In 795, Pedro the Cruel, last of the Christian rulers of Portugal, was born in Lisbon. His harsh actions against those who committed the slightest infraction against his law, coupled with his disregard of the Christian Pope, led to a popular uprising against him, with the support of the Espanish Caliphs.

In 1835, Texican forces suffered a terrible loss in their war for independence when Benjamin Milam was defeated and captured in a battle for the city of San Antonio de Bexar. Santa Ana, ruler of Mexico, had Milam taken under guard to Mexico City. In a daring raid, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie attacked the convoy carrying Milam and freed him.

In 1958, the counter-revolutionary John Birch Society is founded in Indianapolis by capitalist Robert Welch. Its dedicated goal of bringing about the fall of Communism in the world brings it to the attention of the Justice Department, which launches a four-year struggle to eradicate its criminal membership. Some conspiracy theorists say that Lee Oswald, assassin of Comrade President Joel Rosenberg, was a member of the Dallas chapter of the Society.

In 1917, British General Edmund Allenby moved upwards from Egypt and captured Jerusalem. As the first Christian conqueror of the Holy City since the Crusades, “Bloody Bull” as he was known ordered his troops to enter the city on horse. By refusing to dismount, Allenby caused the local population to be outraged by this lack of respect. This was no oversight on his part, he was imposing British authority and ripping up the Balfour Declaration as a “dead letter”. With Lawrence translating Allenby informed Jewish leaders that Zionist government would not be recognized and the city was to be handed over to Prince Feisal and the Arabs. Lawrence had previously described the “eternal miracle of Jewry”, and after this fateful meeting Lawrence asked his commander for leave and returned to England a broken man. Allenby was promoted to Field Marshal and later served as Britain's High Commissioner in Egypt from 1919 to 1925.

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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	Watch the 1983 alien birth scene from V ~ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Click Symbol to Play Clip In 2046, on this day a complex medical procedure was initiated at the world-renowned Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Founded in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center had an enviable reputation for providing the finest healthcare available among California hospitals. More than 1,800 physicians in virtually all medical specialities were affiliated with the hospital, Cedars-joining more than 8,000 employees, 2,000 volunteers and 15,000 fund-raising support group members to form a unique partnership in delivering world-class medicine. But would those resources be enough? Shortly before midnight, surgeons prepared to deliver the world's first child of dual planetary heritage. The surgeons had no text book to prepare for the procedure, and had to rely upon combined best practice in human and newcomer birthing methodologies. The event was sure to be a first for ObstETrics.
Los Angeles

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In 1965, this day is famous for the UFO incident of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, USA. A large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. In fact Kecksburg was the second and final attempt to land an exploratory mission in North America by the non-proliferation committee for the Congress of Worlds. Both Kecksburg and the earlier mission to Roswell, New Mexico had of course been betrayed by the very member of the committee who had leaked nuclear technology to the US Government in the first place.

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In 795, Pedro the Cruel, last of the Christian rulers of Portugal, was born in Lisbon. His harsh actions against those who committed the slightest infraction against his law, coupled with his disregard of the Christian Pope, led to a popular uprising against him, with the support of the Espanish Caliphs.

In 12-10-9-4-2, Incan forces drive off the Yanomami of the eastern jungles. The Yanomami had been raiding them for years, armed and aided by Oueztecan nobles unhappy at the imperial direction Inca had taken in recent years. Since there was no official action from the Oueztecan emperor, the Incans could not declare war against their larger neighbor.

In 1912, Massachusetts Congressman and Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. O’Neill served as Speaker when Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1976, but was so uncooperative that President Carter persuaded Democrats in Congress to dump him in the mid-term elections of 1978, replacing him with Texas Congressman Jim Wright.

Sleep, Glorious Sleep

The state of TIAH

June 9th, 2006

in 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan threatened to resign if President Wilson continued his policy of antagonizing the German government. Wilson had wanted to warn the Germans of dire consequences should they continue their policy of submarine attacks such as the one that sank the Lusitania, killing over a thousand people, among whom were 128 American citizens. Secretary Bryan felt that a smoother diplomatic approach would gain the desired effect of halting the sub attacks, as well as stave off war between the US and Germany. Bryan felt that the European war waging at that moment was not America's concern, but knew that Wilson was eager to extend American influence by joining it. Faced with the prospect of the loss of such a prestigious member of his cabinet, Wilson relented, and Secretary Bryan negotiated compensation for the American victims of the Lusitania and an agreement to halt future such attacks on civilian ships. This agreement only lasted 2 years, but by that time Secretary Bryan was already starting the Reykjavik Talks to end the war in Europe.

in 2006, Robbie Taylor's sweet and lovely daughter Cathy slept all the way through the night because she knew that her father needed his rest. She knew that he would be very grumpy indeed if she woke him up at 2:30 in the morning, then again at 4:30 and stayed up the rest of the morning. She stayed as quiet as a church mouse, even after waking up herself, and just played with the toys in her crib, letting her poor, poor daddy get all the sleep he needed...

in 2017, the crew of the Eagle and the crew of the Quorato got to know each other at an informal dinner prepared by the cook on the Quorato. Commander Patterson, after testing the air in the ship with a scanner, opened her helmet and sniffed the air. It was cold, around 1 degree Celsius, but it was breathable. It had a strange, nutty scent that wasn't exactly unpleasant, but was certainly pervasive. After Captain Kikao leaned closed to her to say something, she knew that it was the scent of the Quarai themselves. Kikao and the few Quarai officers in the cramped meeting room seemed absolutely delighted to have the humans as guests. “I hear rumors of expedition to earth, but many, many kachay in future. We still explore our own system, para? But, now you here! Is great! How you get here?” Patterson looked at her own crew, who didn't quite know what to make of all this, and decided to go with the truth. “We found an alien device on the comet,” she told Kikao. “We activated it, somehow, and it created some kind of wormhole that sucked us into your system.” Kikao seemed to be in raptures of delight. “Alien device? Khoroota! Can we see?” Patterson nodded, but didn't know if that gesture would be understood, so she said, “Of course. It's still on the comet.” Kikao chattered orders to a couple of crewmen, who stretched their long legs and galloped out of the room. “This is great day,” Kikao said to everyone in the room. “New friends, alien device, what more could one ask for?”

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect The Big Sleep to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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Sir Thomas More Executed; Surrender Of Lord Vo

July 6th, 2005

in 1535, 52 years after the King he so unfairly maligned was crowned, Sir Thomas More was executed for treason. In his final statement, he declared that everything he had written about Richard III was a lie; that Henry Tudor had slain the two young princes in the Tower of London; and that the true king was Richard’s only living son, Richard Plantagenet. His statement reignited the War of the Roses, leading to more years of bloodshed as the British Crown was once again in dispute.

in 4561, General Pham Tat Tran is killed by Siamese troops as he guards Lord Vo’s flank. Vo is surrounded and overcome. He tries to be killed in combat, but General Zuo has ordered that Lord Vo is to be taken alive. The Siamese pummel him into unconsciousness and spirit him out of Hanoi to the Chinese General’s headquarters. Here, Vo is forced to accept the Chinese terms of surrender; all soldiers are to give up their arms, and the officers are to be taken to Beijing to be tried for treason.

in 1885, Louis Pasteur inoculates a human patient for the first time. However, the inoculation makes the patient’s rabies mutate into something even worse; and soon, an epidemic is raging throughout France. Rabid people turn wild in the streets and have to be shot for the common good. Pasteur is forever disgraced, as are his theories.

in 1910, Mlosh from the earth begin traveling to their home system in large numbers. With the war officially over, the curiosity about the planet their species began on overwhelms millions of them.

in 1923, future First Lady Ann Frances (Robbins) Reagan was born in New York City. First Lady from 1977-1981, she was remembered for her anti-drug campaign (somewhat ridiculed by people who had experienced quite a few drugs first hand), and her personal belief in astrology, which many claim hurt her conservative husband Ronald politically. He never did, saying that it was a weak politician who blames his wife for his defeats. She left office when her husband was voted out in 1980, following the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

in 1947, rancher Mac Brazel shows the 3-day old debris on his ranch to Sheriff George Wilcox. Wilcox has no idea what it might be, and doesn’t know what to make of the mutilated bodies, so he puts in a call to a friend of his at the Roswell Army Air Base, Major Jesse Marcel. The Major promises that he will get over to the ranch the next day to look at the debris, but assures Wilcox that no military planes have been downed in the area.

in 1981, after breaking through the outer security at Area 51, the Vegas 6 and Mobius descend into the inner complex. While fighting a running battle with the guards and alien technology, they manage to crack into the records system and find out that the situation was worse than Mobius had feared – the genetically engineered alien virus which created them is breaking out of its confinement area; by the end of the month, it will break out again and the entire population of the planet will be at risk. Before they can do anything else, they are driven from the complex by an advanced alien robot. They reconvene at Mobius’ headquarters to decide what to do.

in 1995, the prosecution rested its case in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. It had apparently done its job; after the defense had rested, the jury found Mr. Simpson guilty after a mere 2 hours of deliberation.

in 2000, American businessman Steve Huff purchases a rather large object from the Russian government and has it shipped to New York. The object was previously a part of the Kremlin itself, and was shipped in a concrete block covered with steel; strange lettering covered each side of the metal plating.


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The Last Wimbledon

July 7th, 2007

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The Announcement

A note from the AH: Here we are at the luckiest day of the century - 7th day of the 7th month of the 7th year – so, I'm buying a lottery ticket! I sincerely hope that good luck follows you today, and that our humble offerings are part of it...

Andrea opened up a web browser to her favorite Internet radio station so that she could have some tunes while she worked. Better enjoy it while it lasts, she thought, mentally cursing the new laws that were going to doom this little spark of enjoyment. She had finally found a great oldies station, and it was going to go out of business. Typical.
After the music started playing, she went back to her word processor and looked through her notes. She felt nervous – she was one of two people at the meeting who weren't heavy politicians, and the other person was the actual discoverer of the probe. She had just led the team that confirmed its location and intercept course with earth. She pretty much knew that all the pols wanted to hear from her was a date and a time that the thing would be getting to earth, but she wanted to say so much more. She had dreamed of this happening since she had first read Stranger in a Strange Land when she was 12, and it's hard to encapsulate your feelings on achieving the goal of a lifetime in a dry, technical report.
She tried to tone that down, though. She included some speculation on the possible inhabitants of Wolf 359 3 million years ago because she couldn't help herself. She imagined them being much like the human race now, taking the first few steps out into the universe by sending mechanical probes to test the waters of the cosmos – no, scratch that, that was too “poetic”, and they didn't want to hear that. It was entirely possible that 3 million years ago, Wolf 359 was a system much like their own, and the inhabitants of the system – they were going to have to come up with a name for them. Lupines? 359ians was definitely out. Just plain Wolves?
Anyway, the inhabitants had obviously sent out probes much like we sent out Voyager. The only question was whether the Lupine probe – yes, she liked that name best – was sent out at the beginning or the end of their explorations. She speculated that after 3 million years, there was no possibility that the people who sent the probe were still there – this was probably the last record of their civilization. That saddened her. First contact, and they're probably all dead.
She then went into the technical details of slowing the thing down without destroying it, matching speeds with the shuttle before it could descend into the atmosphere, and the heavy quarantine that she wanted to place it under. Her recommendation was to keep it at the International Space Station, but she had already been told that it would be coming to earth. In her opinion, as well as the opinion of everyone else on her team, that was needlessly reckless; scientists could be flown up to the ISS and kept there indefinitely while they worked on the probe and were monitored for any signs of alien disease or contamination.
The bigwigs at all the space agencies wanted this “big win” to appear on earth, though, and they were the ones who called the shots. So, she had to present a quarantine protocol along with her ISS recommendation that allowed for bringing the probe to earth with minimum possibility of polluting the planet with alien taint. She had that almost worked out, although she wished there was a way to catch the thing without involving the shuttle's crew. No matter what, they were going to have to be quarantined, as well, and she was going to stand very firm on that.

In 1999, the networks ran installment eight of TSEotTC, part two. The conspiracy after the drama after the tears... The Queen reluctant to address the nation, a suspicion that British Secret Agents had done away with the Prince of Hearts to save the monarchy from the changes of Charles' new thinking. And Diana, perhaps carrying Dodi's baby, father Mohammed Al-Fayd implicated in the "Accident"?

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 5708, by the Hebrew Calendar the Jewish nation suffered the Israeli Catastrophe. The events occurred less than three years after the end of the holocaust, and many observed some measure of linkage in the events. Following the collapse of the short-lived State of Israel, the United Nations definition of an "Israeli refugee" is a person "whose normal place of residence was Israel between 14th May 1948 and 7th July 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict." "UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948" regardless of whether they reside in areas designated as "refugee camps" or in established, permanent communities. Also amongst the dead were Field Marshal T.E. Lawrence leading his second Arab revolt, assisted by the Arab Legion and General John Bagot Glubb (“Glubb Pasha”).

~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

James Molyneaux	"Does the Prime Minister recall that Britain was in a minority of one in the Europe of 1940? Does she further agree that, 50 years on, the basic issue is still the same-- undiluted parliamentary democracy and not imposed diktat? " ~ MP for Lagan at PM's Question Time
MP

Before the gathering of right-wing forces in Britain took shape, taking the country out of the European Union in 1992 after the fiery Maastrict Conference and the collapse of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. A synopsis of Britain's struggle to stay in or out of Europe is described at Wikipedia

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

Sam Cooke	"It's been too hard living But I'm afraid to die I don't know what's up there beyond the sky It's been a long, long time coming But I know a change gonna come Oh yes it will" ~ King of Soul, weeks before his death
King of Soul

On December 11, 1964 Cooke was found shot dead in the Hacienda Hotel, a small place close to the Watts section of Los Angeles California. The police reports that came from the crime scene were ugly. Cooke was reported to be found lying slumped on the floor with bullet wounds all over his body, shot by the Motel Manager in self-defence. The decapitated state of the body as witnessed by singer Etta James ridicules the LAPD explanation. It has been alleged that the record label and the Mob conspired to execute Cooke. In being one of the first African American musicians to attempt to take control of his own destiny, Cooke attended to the business side of his musical career and in so doing clashed with the rocket label, the mob and the Nation of Islam. He had abandoned his backers and some shadowy people were severely out of pocket. Many may dispute his title as "the king of soul" but Sam Cooke's legacy is an extensive one and his impact on soul music is undeniable - he had 29 Top 40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1965 and his voice electrifies us to this day. A synopsis of Sam Cooke's alleged mob execution is described at Epinions

~ quotation by Co-Historian Steve Payne from Counter-history – You're the Judge!

In 2010, the US military celebrate the destruction of the small pox virus weapons launched by the rogue North Korean leadership. It is a personal success for General Ben Crewe of the U.S. Marines. Crewe and his scientist daughter Carol had concealed the project from Congressional oversight, secretly channelling research grants in an illegal funding operation. They had also concealed the military application from Carol's husband, the Head of HARC, Physicist Mike Ryder. Worse, HARC was a contravention of the ABM Treaty. None of that mattered now, or so everyone thought until the Aftershock hit.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1940, the vicious street fighting of the past fortnight finally ceased across London. Whitehall was seized by the Wehrmacht. Prime Minister Winston Churchill went down pistols blazing, his ashes scattered in the garden at Number 10 Downing Street. The Battle of Britain was lost, but the War on Nazidom was only just beginning. It was Britain's finest hour.

~ entry from Co-Historian Steve Payne

In 1967, an enraged Otis Redding appeared at Jerry Wexler's office at Atlantic Records. Wexler had been named Record Executive of the Year for turning Aretha Franklin's career around. And therein lie the problem - "Otis came up to my office right before "Respect" was released, and I played him the tape. He said, "She done took my song." He said it angrily. He knew the identity of the song was slipping away from him to her."

~ entry from Co-Historian Steve Payne

Churchill	In 1942, Winston Churchill visited London Town. It was intended that he would support the Dublin Government with a statement denouncing the protestant terrorists behind “the Troubles” in Southern England. However, he had underestimated the emotion of the occasion as tens of thousands of English protestants lined the Streets ..
.. to welcome the “Lion of Brooklyn”. Something has to be done muttered Churchill darkly.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1996, the Harry Turtledove published the counter-history novel Israel: a tale of an Alternate Palestine in which he posed the Zionist Question – what would have happened if the withdrawing British forces had partitioned Palestine in 1948 rather than instituted a Palestinian State?	Harry Turtledov..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

XF-11	In 1946, on this day Howard Hughes died when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashed in a Beverly Hills neighbourhood. An oil leak caused one of the counter-rotating propellers to reverse its pitch, making the plane yaw sharply. Hughes tried to save the craft by landing it on the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but seconds ..
.. before he reached his attempted destination the plane started dropping dramatically and crashed in the Beverly Hills neighbourhood surrounding the country club. When the plane finally skidded to a halt after mowing down three houses, the fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to the plane and a nearby home. Hughes lay dying beside the burning air plane where he was found by Marine master sergeant William L. Durkin, who happened to be in the area visiting friends. Hughes had suffered a dislodged heart, crushed collar bone, six shattered ribs and numerous third-degree burns making his survival impossible.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1975, on this day Arthur Ashe celebrated the achievement of becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title. Tragically, he died of complications from AIDS on February 6, 1993. In the eight years between the deaths of Rock Hudson and Arthur Ashe, the need for awareness had progressed from a low level concern ..	Venus Williams
.. to a species threatening catastrophe. By coincidence, another black athlete, Venus Williams was to win the Wimbledon singles title in 2001. That was the last year in which the sporting event was feasible as western civilization succumbed to the AIDS Pandemic.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Division

	In 1952, on this day Princess Elizabeth proclaimed herself Queen, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith in a ceremony at Rideau Hall, the Governor's Residence in Ottawa. The proclaimation was met with a cool response from London. Prime Minister Oswald Mosley had made common cause with continental fascists Mussolini of Italy, Franco of Spain and Hitler of Germany during his premiership, but where they were all gone by the end of the decade, Mosley's rule of Britain had only begun.

The death of King George VI was a potential catalist to perhaps end the dynastic crisis in the British monarchy. Ironically the Queen's Uncle, King Edward VIII had been forced to abdicate having married an American divorcee, Wallace Simpson. He returned from the Governorship of the Bahamas as the titular Head of a Nazi Client State when the remainder of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha fled to the Americas during Operation Sealion in 1940. Of German origin themselves, the British Royal Family traced their routes to the House of Wettin in Saxony. This dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors (Kurfürsten) and kings ruled the area of today's German state of Saxony for more than 800 years as well as holding at times the kingship of Poland. Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of Great Britain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Saxony, and Belgium.

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In 1952, Juan Escobar, a man who has made a small living studying the paranormal in Mexico and eastern Europe, hears of the destruction of a small diner in Bryan, Texas by a tall, dark German man. He has heard of this man before, the Baron von Todt, and immediately travels to Texas to find him.

Devils Footprints	In 1855, the Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon with the contemporaneous sightings of Spring Heeled Jack, a mysterious figure known for his extraordinary jumps. Jack was described by alleged victims as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy that included clawed hands and eyes that resembled red balls of fire. He was finally trapped in the East End of London where he was captured for the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 and later executed at the Tower of London.
Spring Heeled Jack

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In 1974, the temporary American space station Skylab returns to earth after 84 days in space. The crew included a stowaway, the alien intelligence known as the Avatar who quickly establishes a global tyranny.

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In 9816 BCE, Egyptian taskmasters, looking for a way to keep their slaves both happy and nourished, concoct a beverage that is essentially liquid fermented bread, from grains, yeast and water. Slaves cannot stomach the bitter, foul drink, and the recipe is lost to time.

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In 1692, Abigail Williams and Betty Paris uncover a coven of witches within the community of Salem, Massachusetts. For their great service to the crown, they are made Royal Witch-Hunters for the colony on reaching their majority. Through their diligence, hundreds of witches are driven from Massachusetts.

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In 1914, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien began working on the Middle-earth stories. A good deal was written while Tolkien, then a British officer returned from France during World War I, was laid up in a military hospital and at home with trench fever. Truth be told, Tolkien's imagination was over-stimulated by the horror of the Somme. In escapist fantasy writing, Tolkien's inner hero struggled to restore his own dissipated life force.

And when the tidings came of the fall of Gondolin, .. Morgoth [Tolkien's fear] though that his triumph was fulfilled, recking little of [Tolkien].. and he called upon them to forgive them, and rescue them back from the overmastering might of Morgoth and win back the Silmarils [Life Force]. ~ Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin

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In 1725, Pyotr the Great, last Tsar of Russia, died in captivity in Istanbul. He had been captured during a war with the Ottoman Empire in 1710, and held in disgrace ever since. His death finally quieted loyalists who had been attempting to overthrow the Ottomans and restore him to his throne.

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In 1777, Major Timothy Bigelow of the American rebels is recaptured, just 6 months after being released from a prisoner-of-war camp. The Massachusetts blacksmith is put to the death by the British as an example to other colonials. Many men from Bigelow's regiment joined the growing exodus to Canada, to join the nascent independence movement there.

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In 1802, the banjo clock is patented by Simon Willard of Massachusetts. This phenomenally successful product led to other musical instruments being made into clocks; antique guitar clocks from this era often sell for thousands of dollars at auctions.

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In 12-13-12-5-8, Emperor Calzotz allows the conquered northern nations to use their land in their traditional ways, instead of assigning nobles to rule over them. This act of mercy pays off for Ouezteca in reduced rebellions, and is continued by his successors.

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In 1998, on this day John Enoch Powell died in Canada and entered Valhalla. Powell's apocalyptic warnings of Rivers of Blood had proven all too prescient. The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher had sent an elite force of Royal Marines and Paratroopers to cauterize the Channel Tunnel. Before the bomb could be detonated at Sangatte, the British position was overrun by vampires. Held at bay since 1917, the Red Menace finally swept into Britain. Powell escaped to Canada where his advice and guidance was desperately needed by a terrified Canadian government.

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Ariel Sharon	In 1983, on this day Generals Ariel Sharon - better known as the terrorist Arik - and Rafael Eitan of the Zionist Liberation Army were sentenced to death. The court found that Mr Sharon was indirectly but personally to blame for the massacres of more than 800 people in the Sabra and Shatila villages near Beirut in 1982. ZLA terrorists were in control of west Beirut when right-wing Christian militias entered the villages. The Lebanese Phalangist militia acted within the wider context of the Jewish-Christian consipiracy to strike the State of Palestine by destabilising the Northern border. The Phalange leader, Bashir Gemayel was still at liberty in the Lebanon.
Terrorist Arik

The Court's report said Mr Sharon had made a 'grave mistake' by failing to order 'appropriate measures for preventing or reducing the danger of massacre of innocents'. It concluded that Sharon should have foreseen what the Phalange would do when they entered the villages. Mr Sharon's defence lawyer said that because he had no knowledge of what would happen when ZLA irregular troops allowed the militia into the camps, he could not be held to account. The report also condemned Zionist General Rafael Eitan for breach of the Geneva convention in not taking steps to stop the massacre. It said he should have anticipated the danger and opposed the decision to send militia into the villages. Also criticised was ZLA President Menachim Begin, dismissing the argument that the Zionists could not be held directly accountable.

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