Precious

Albino Alligators	In the Gorean month of En'Kara, an exquisite sale was made at the great market city of Corcyrus - seven rare albino alligators. Ligurious paid the counter-earth smuggers in Double-Weight Gold Tarn Disks. En route to their new owner, the Tatrix, Sheila, the alligators broke lost and escaped into the Vosk River. The current whereabouts of the alligators – and also Ligurious – is uncertain, although they are presumed to be at liberty in the southwest of Ar.
Missing

On the other side of the sun, law enforcement officers in Brazil continued to investigate the other side of the transaction - the disappearance of the mammals from a university zoo in the western state of Mato Grosso. Their theory – which was close to the truth - was that they may have been stolen to be sold abroad. The animals, said by officials to be worth around $10,000 (£5,070) each, have no skin pigment and their eyes are a distinctive pink. Most of albino alligators born in the wild do not survive because their skin colour makes them vulnerable to attack. They were last seen when they were fed on New Year's Eve, but they were missing when a zoo official went to feed them again on Wednesday morning. Police say there was no sign of a break-in at the zoo which contains more than 800 animals spread across 11 hectares (27 acres) hectares of parkland. The alligators were said to be young with an average age of around two years, and only one albino alligator is now left at the zoo. Police say the rarity of the alligator will make the investigation difficult as the people involved in the illegal trading of such rare species are very secretive. The apparent theft also highlights a wider problem. Animal rights activists say Brazil accounts for 10% of the world's illegal trade in animals, mainly parrots and other birds, which are often sold in Europe and the United States. Or further afield, shall we say. In their contentions with Priest-Kings, Kurii, savage denizens of the Steel Worlds, concealed within the asteroid belt, have frequently had recourse to human allies, and subversion. In accord with such projects, Kurii have occasionally sought to place and support congenial administrations in key cities. One such city is Corcyrus. Corcyrus is ruled by a beautiful woman, the cruel, arrogant, much-hated Sheila, an agent of Kurii.

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In 1477, Charles the Bold is the victor of the Battle of Nancy, sustaining the Duchy of Burgundy which persists to this day as a polity inside the European Union.

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In 4288, Shehzaada Khurram, venerated Indian governor for the Chinese Empire, was born in Agra. His patronage was responsible for the creation of the finest art and architecture to grace southeast Asia. The Taj Mahal, his greatest achievement, is almost as impressive a palace as the Forbidden City, itself.

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Balrog	In 1916, combat tension combined with an over-active imagination amplified by the experience of the Battle of the Somme had traumatised Second Lieutenant John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, eleventh battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. "Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud, he smote the the Bridge [of Khazad-Dum] before him. The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog's feet it broke. With a terrible cry, the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it feel it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled around the wizad's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasping vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss".
Tolkiens Phantasm

Inside a military field hospital Tolkien fought a mental battle to defeat the phantasmagoric projections of the Somme. A battle, he would both win, and lose, and win again. Like Kurt Vonnegut fifty years later, Tolkien's need for expression sought out escapist literature, and his own fight was portrayed in this animated scene from the Mines of Moria. And also later, when he finally defeated the Balrog in the well of the Abyss.

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In 1994, former Speaker of the House Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill dies at his home in Boston. O’Neill had a short reign at the top of the House’s hierarchy after being elected to the position in 1977. He feuded with the newly elected President Carter, and was notoriously unhelpful in passing the Democratic president’s agenda. He was replaced in the next election cycle by Texas Representative Barbara Jordan, who was much more willing to stand up for the party’s values.

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Nelson Mandela	“Believe”, Nelson once said to me, “you must always believe.” ”I believe the time has come.” ~ Samson Zola. In Laura Resnick's dystopia, years of civil war had torn apart the dream of a Rainbow nation. Samson Zola prepared to assassinate the President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Even though he loved him like a father, he saw the need to return South Africa to its people.
Alternate Tyrant

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Stephen R. Donaldson	In 1968, Stephen Reeder Donaldson languished in Vietnam. By inclination a conscientious objector, he had been compelled to serve in the armed forces. Much later, and after dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first "Covenant" trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico. Donaldson's two year compulsory military duty would be the deep undercurrent of his escapist fantasy writing. In “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever”, the protagonist was a leper struggled with disempowerment in a Land he did not really believe in.
Unbeliever

Mud?" His leper's caution quivered. "I need soap, not more dirt." "This is hurtloam," repeated Lena. "It is for healing." She stepped closer and thrust the mud toward him. He thought he could see tiny gleams of gold in it. He stared at it blankly, shocked by the idea of putting mud in his cuts. ~“Golden Boy”

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In 1986, the Asimov Plan came close to failure because of the arrival of an agent of the random, Mikhal Gorbachev. Asimov had not forseen that an individual could arise who would be both committed to the interregnum's political philosophy, yet a gambler who was prepared to risk all to save the future. The agent of the random was eventually lured to his south russian dachi in August 1991 to destroy the Second Foundation. However, in so doing, he left his main fleet, which was turned against him by Second Foundation agents in his absence, thus ending his rule.

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In 1781, American rebel Benedict Arnold sacks the city of Richmond, in one last act of defiance before fleeing to Canada. With the American revolution largely at an end, Arnold and his revolutionary comrades felt that a statement had to be made against those who capitulated so quickly to the British. General Arnold, of course, was an instrumental figure in the fight for Canadian independence.

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In 1953, the side-splitting slapstick comedy En Attendant Godot by the playwright Samuel Beckett, made its debut in Paris. Widely regarded as Beckett’s masterpiece, it has been translated and filmed in several languages, delighting audiences around the world.

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In 1781, Thomas Gainsborough completed his masterpiece The Two Georges, depicting King George III and General George Washington's historic agreement which established the British North American Union. The Sons of Liberty considered Washington a turncoat. Two hundred and fifteen years later they would succeeed in snatching this symbol of national unity just before the arrival of King Charles III's visit to the State capital of Victoria.

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Nixon Issues Pardons

The state of TIAH

August 8th, 2006

in 1945, President Truman calls off the use of the atom bomb against Nagasaki; the destruction of Hiroshima has only caused the Japanese to harden their defenses. As the days went on, though, and refugees from Hiroshima spilled out into the rest of the country, many Japanese began to push for a surrender to the Allied forces. Rumors that another bomb was ready and waiting to be dropped on any city in the island nation spread like wildfire, and people panicked whenever a bomber flew overhead. The Allies, seeing this general chaos building, began dropping leaflets from bombers describing the nuclear destruction that was waiting to rain down on them if they didn't overthrow their rulers. This successful propaganda campaign toppled Emperor Hirohito and General Tojo, who were displaced by the Japanese Citizen's Committee on September 23rd, 1945. The JCC then negotiated peace with the Allies and formally ended the war on October 1st.

in 1974, President Richard Nixon of the US issued an extensive pardon for virtually all of the Watergate conspirators and his former Vice-President, Spiro Agnew, who was facing bribery charges in his native Maryland. This enraged his opposition in Congress, which had been hoping to avoid impeachment by getting Nixon to quietly resign. Trickey Dick refused to give up without a fight, though, and threw pardons around like candy to keep people from testifying against him. It wasn't until he had the FBI arrest Congresswoman Barbara Jordan that the Congress decided he had finally overstepped his authority in a way that they could impeach him. The House formally drew up the impeachment papers while Jordan languished in a federal prison, and Nixon threatened the rest of them with the same fate. The general public didn't stand idly by while this was going on, either; Washington DC was shut down by protests on 4 different occasions during this hot summer; one of the marches organized by the Students' Non-Violent Coordinating Committee even surrounded the White House for seven hours on August 17th, until Nixon agreed to release Jordan. The Congresswoman returned to her seat in the House on August 20th, to a standing ovation from her colleagues. She led the impeachment charge against Nixon, and it was obvious that the Senate was going to vote for removal from office. President Nixon asked the military leaders at the Pentagon if they would stand beside him should he defy the removal orders; although a few unknown generals answered the president affirmatively, the majority let him know that their oath was to the country and the constitution, not to him. On September 4th, 1974, hours before the Senate's vote on impeachment was scheduled, Richard M. Nixon resigned his office, and left Washington a broken man. He attempted to salvage his reputation afterwards, but memories of his autocratic actions during the summer of '74 remained fresh in everyone's minds for years afterwards, and he died a pathetic shadow of his former self in 1982.

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Early Sacks Washingon; Jordan Named VP

July 12th, 2005

in 653 AUC, Gaius Julius Caesar was born. This minor Roman general played a part in subduing the Gauls. In his memoirs, he vastly inflated his role in the whole campaign, making him something of a laughing stock among his peers. Many plebeians flocked to hear him speak, though, so he made a living in his later years as an orator.

in 1864, the deciding battle of the American Civil War was fought as Jubal Early’s forces sacked Washington, D.C. Lincoln immediately sent word to President Davis of the Confederacy that he was ready to discuss terms of peace.

in 1901, Carla Lambert appears in her first film, an adaptation of the current best-selling children’s book The Wizard Of Oz. She played the relatively small role of Glinda, the good witch of the south. Her beauty and poise win her many fans, and she moves to starring roles soon after the release of this film.

in 1910, the first Mlosh colonists land on the Mlosh homeworld. There are very few Q’Bar left on the planet, but the ones still there are not very welcoming towards the Mlosh; after examining the records of what their ancestors did to the Q’Bar, the Mlosh begin to understand why.

in 1937, famed blaxploitation star Bill Cosby was born in Philadelphia. After getting his break in the 60’s spy show I Spy, Cosby went on to star in such black action films as Shaft. He defined the role of black action hero that later actors Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy would seek to emulate.

in 4648, Imperial ministers Chang Kai-Shek and Mao Tse-Tung nearly come to blows as they argue over what rights it would be permissible to allow non-nobles to have. the Emperor has to physically pull them away from each other; in fact, Chang landed a blow on Dao-Ming before realizing who he was swinging at. Chang is in fear of his life, but Dao-Ming simply says, “In the world I envision, it is not right to kill men for a mistake. Let us forget that it happened.” With this simple act of mercy, Dao-Ming changes the mood of the entire assemblage.

in 1982, Steven Spielberg showed that he wasn’t always a wunderkind as his latest film, ET the Extraterrestrial, tanked at the box office. Dismissed by critics as sappy and predictable, audiences just were not able to emotionally connect with a character that was essentially played by a puppet.

in 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale shocked the country by naming former Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan as his vice-presidential running mate. The eloquent Ms. Jordan electrifies the Democratic campaign, and they defeat incumbent President Ronald Reagan in an electoral squeaker, 271-268.

in 1992, a statue honoring Texas-born musical legend Buddy Holly was unveiled in Dallas, Texas. The aging rock star attended the ceremony with his wife, 4 children and 7 grandchildren, along with his large extended family from Lubbock. Though he hadn’t lived in the state since the 50’s, Holly still spoke with a Texas drawl as he said, “I love the statue, but maybe y’all shoulda used a better lookin’ model.”

in 2000, Velma Porter and Mikhail von Heflin reluctantly assist businessman Steve Huff’s scientists as they study the creature from beyond the world. The Baron becomes very interested in their work, and this disturbs Ms. Porter, who is only offering enough assistance to make sure the creature doesn’t free itself again.


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