Self-determination

Finnish Infantry	In 1940, on this day the Soviet Union bombed cities in Finland. Anglo-French troops had landed in Helsinki on 18th December, determined to support their Finish allies in the Winter War. Because the Russian attack was judged as illegal, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations on December 14. The Allies had absolutely no problem with a de fact declaration of war on the Soviet Union. In their calculations, prospects for Anglo-French survival were improved, having permitted Germany to invade Poland. This way, they hoped to drive a wedge between the signatories of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, bringing the wolf Hitler back into the fold.
Winter War

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	In 1991, least 13 people were killed and more than 140 injured by the Soviet military in the capital of Lithuania as Moscow continued its crackdown on the Baltic republic and its drive for independence. Troops broke through the defences set up by more than 1,000 protesters who had gathered to protect a Lithuanian radio and television centre at about 0200 local time. Soldiers then smashed through the glass windows of the station and overwhelmed defenders armed with sticks.
Lithuania

A sound truck moved through the city telling residents that power was being assumed by the National Committee for Salvation, a group formed by the small pro-Soviet faction of the Lithuanian Communist Party, three days ago. "Lithuanians, do not resist," the military said. "Your government has deceived you. Go home to your families and children." Many of the Lithuanians refused to retreat under the attacks and sporadic gunfire continued for at least 90 minutes. The television and radio stations, which broadcast throughout the republic, went off air after the assault. Just before the radio station shut down, an announcer said: "We address all those who hear us. It is possible that (the army) can break us with force or close our mouths, but no one will make us renounce freedom and independence." The broadcast facility was one of several buildings seized by Soviet troops in Vilnius since they began cracking down on 11 January. Yesterday, tanks ploughed into unarmed demonstrators in Vilnius before soldiers opened fire on a crowd attempting to defend a government building. The assault represents a major escalation in the Soviet Government's use of force against the republic. It is the bloodiest military attack on peaceful citizens since troops killed nine nationalist demonstrators in Georgia in 1989. Calm was restored in the Baltic Republics after the the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt. President Gennady Yanayev took the corrective action necessary to reverse the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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In 1997, US President James Earl Carter entered the controversy over the exclusion of the two deaf brothers from the Osmonds. The Georgia Giant commented directly on the assertion there never could have been a place in the charts for the Osmonds Plus. The brothers were both absolutely right, and also absolutely wrong.

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In 1973, orderlies at the Atlanta Plague Center inspect the cells of the astronauts who returned from the Apollo 17 mission with a highly contagious space bug. They are empty with no evidence of forced struggle or escape.

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Nelson Mandela	“I weep for Nelson” wrote Samson Zola, “who will never know why I tried to kill him” ”I weep for the wife and children I leave behind to face the uncertain future I have helped to create. I weep for South Africa. But most of all, I weep for myself. Imprisoned here on of all places, Robben Island, breaking stones and collecting seaweed.” ~ Samson Zola. In Laura Resnick's dystopia, years of civil war had torn apart the dream of a Rainbow nation. Samson Zola attempted 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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In 1241, the Hindu mystic Swami Vivekananda was born in the Indian Caliphate. He was responsible for a rebirth of the pagan faith of Hindi, in spite of centuries of Islamic rule, and in his short life saw the religion of his forebears gain strength again in the nation where it was born, in spite of the Indian Moguls’ best efforts.

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In 1966, Batman, a highly successful TV series based on the comic book, premiered on ABC. Starring Bill Anderson in the title role and Herb Gervis, Jr. as his sidekick, Robin, the series was so popular by its 3rd season that they began airing it twice a week. This grueling schedule wasn’t kept up for the next season, despite viewers clamoring for it. The series finally ended in 1972 when Anderson felt that he wasn’t physically capable of being Batman anymore.

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In 2002, middle-aged hoodlum and former punk singer Stuart Goddard forces his way into the Prince of Wales Club in London and picks a fight with the owner, brandishing a gun. He is arrested quickly and put in jail for almost 3 years. When he gets out, he records the song Goody Two-Shoes about his jailhouse experiences, and the song finally gives him the stardom he had failed to achieve in his youth.

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In 1973, the arch-terrorist Moshe Dayan is arrested in London. Subsequently he was taken to Gaza City and put on trial for the kidnapping and murder of Palestinian athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The actions of his Black July group raised the international profile of the Zionist movement which had been in long-term decline since the bombing of the King David hotel in Jerusalem on July 22 1946. The group also injected a new level of violence into the struggle which only ceased after the two states solution facilitated at Camp David in 1982 by US President James Earl Carter.

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In 1953, retired Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery advised US President-elect Douglas MacArthur 'not to take his land army to Asia'. Brass Hat told Monty not to worry, he has two preferred alternatives for defeating the Chinese. First, the new hydrogen bomb yielding 450 times the explosive power of 'Fat Man', the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Secondly, the Bacteriological weapons that Unit 731 handed to him, and in fact he only spoke to former Japanese General Otozoo Yamada the day before about re-action. Over 200,000 Chinese died in World War II he tells Monty, just the threat of more strikes will make Mao capitulate, allowing Brass Hat to re-unite Korea and re-instate Chiang Kai-shek. 'There's no substitute for victory' he tells Monty.

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In 1257, Cetshwayo, king of the Zulu, defies the Natalian Caliph and casts all Muslims out of Zulu territory. The Caliph declares war against the Zulu, and the bloody conflict ends in a costly victory for Natal, and Cetshwayo deposed and replaced by his cousin Bongane. Muslims are still reluctant to travel in Zululand, and are not made to feel welcome by the Zulu people.

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In 1926, Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli was born on this day in Buenos Aires. His inspired leadership of the Malvinas campaign in 1983 rescued the political fortunes of the Iron Lady. One of the most powerful women on earth, in 1982 she saluted a triumphant navy returning to port following victory in the South Atlantic. Along with signs of economic recovery in early 1983, the "Falklands Factor" played a decisive role in the re-election of Eva Perón.

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The Blessings Of Yahweh; Batman

ALTERNATE HISTORIAN'S NOTE: We are holding another contest! Please send us entries for an Alternate Valentine's Day, February 14th, 2006. You may send us up to three entries for the day, and we will choose the best 10 to appear on February 14th. Enter now - deadline will be February 10th! By entering, you grant TIAH the right to electronically print your writing on February 14th, 2006, maintain your writing in our archives, and reprint your entry should we decide to reuse it in the future. TIAH only maintains full copyright over material it has originated that has been used by contestants in writing their own entries. And, another cool thing - Let us know where you are on Frappr!

January 12th, 2006

in 1000 Post-Creation, Yahweh halts the fighting in Heaven and holds the new angel-human baby, Achazia. A light falls from Him onto the young girl, and she laughs when it touches her. Yahweh's heart is moved by the child, and He orders Lucifer and Gabriel to send their respective forces away; the angelic host retreats inside the gates of Heaven, and Gabriel's horde flies back to Eden. “This child shall hold the key to the future,” Yahweh tells the two angelic leaders. “I give her My blessings.”

in 902, Rhonwen, mistress of the sea, and Atticus, wizard of lightning, send a challenge to the Christian zealot Lebuin, telling him to meet the wizards of Wales at Rhonwen's fortess in a week's time. Two other wizards, as well as Merlin, are already on their way to Rhonwen's coastal home, with supplies that will make the already-formidable keep the strongest place in all of Britain.

in 1863, the Hindu mystic Swami Vivekananda was born in India. He was responsible for a great reawakening of the Hindi faith, in spite of centuries of British attempts to tamp it down. In his short life, he saw the religion of his forebears gain strength again in the nation where it was born, in spite of the British government's best efforts. His work inspired later Hindu revolutionaries such as the nation's hardiest warrior of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi.

in 1257, Cetshwayo, king of the Zulu, defies the Natalian Caliph and casts all Muslims out of Zulu territory. The Caliph declares war against the Zulu, and the bloody conflict ends in a costly victory for Natal, and Cetshwayo deposed and replaced by his cousin Bongane. Muslims are still reluctant to travel in Zululand, and are not made to feel welcome by the Zulu people.

in 1889, Mikhail von Heflin reaches Texas, but is still hundreds of miles away from the relatives he is looking for. He heads westward to the state’s Hill Country. Meanwhile, in the home of Karen and Jedediah Thompson, young Willard Thompson is born. His paternal grandchildren will be responsible for the culmination of destiny of the Baron’s descendants.

in 1904, the Plutonian outpost of the Congress of Nations receives a hail from the ships approaching from the Mlosh homeworld. The hail is in the Mlosh language, and requests orbiting privileges for Pluto. The outpost grants this, cautiously, and sends word back to earth. Several warships are already on their way, and a C.N. ambassador sails with them; they are prepared for both a joyful meeting and a hostile encounter.

in 1928, the winter stillness of the small Hungarian village of Nagyrev is broken by the cries of a man going through his death throes. Zsuzsanna Fazekas' husband Vasily is merely the first of many mysterious deaths in the small community, as dark forces seem to play at the village's borders, coming in to slay the men of the village in hideous pain.

in 1962, the Pentagon convinces Comrade President Rosenberg that the best way to rid Chile of the guerrillo reactionaries is to expose the jungle pathways they have been using to move personnel with a defoliant known as Comrade Orange. The use of this chemical boomerangs against American servicemen there, as it causes many illnesses in American soldiers stationed in Chile over the next decade.

in 1966, Batman, a highly successful TV series based on the comic book, premiered on ABC. Starring Bill Anderson in the title role and Herb Gervis, Jr. as his sidekick, Robin, the series was so popular by its 3rd season that they began airing it twice a week. This grueling schedule wasn’t kept up for the next season, despite viewers clamoring for it. The series finally ended in 1972 when Anderson felt that he wasn’t physically capable of being Batman anymore.

in 1969, Yassin and Schoemann think that their prototype time machine is ready for an animal test. The cat that they have been training will push the activation button on command, so they send it back. It is the first large-scale object they have tried to push back through time, and Schoemann is concerned even though they know they have already succeeded. As he places the cat in the machine, her collar comes loose and he pulls it off absent-mindedly and puts it in his pocket. It is only after the cat is gone that he realizes that the cat they saw 5 days before was wearing its collar.

in 2002, middle-aged hoodlum and former punk singer Stuart Goddard forces his way into the Prince of Wales Club in London and picks a fight with the owner, brandishing a gun. He is arrested quickly and put in jail for almost 3 years. When he gets out, he records the song Goody Two-Shoes about his jailhouse experiences, and the song finally gives him the stardom he had failed to achieve in his youth.

in 2005, Austin, Texas resident Jeanna Best and her friend Dave Lange notice something odd about a televised interview with their U.S. Representative, Carl Worthington. Whenever he speaks with commentator Jack Kilbride, he makes a subtle clawing gesture with his thumb, index and middle finger. He only makes the gesture when speaking towards Kilbride, and not the other pundits on the show. Curious, they begin tracking other appearances of Worthington to see if he makes this gesture in other situations.

Timelines in today's post: the Mlosh, Islam Ascendant, von Heflin, the GZR, and Communist America.

Yet another AHN - today's post has something a little different about it. There are links to the real timeline source of 4 alternate entries and at the bottom of the post you will find links to the ongoing timelines that are written about in this post. This is extraordinarily time-consuming, so give us some comments about it to let us know if you would like us to continue doing that.

We still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!

The Forum lives again! My esteemed Co-Historian has brought the forum back to life, and in spite of the issues we've had with the forum in the past, we think that this time, it'll stay up!
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?

Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com

Help the Alternate Historian get a better day job!
My email address for contacting me with your good news, or for more direct goodness, go to the web site and leave a comment, buy a book, or leave a Paypal donation! Remember, it's only 6 degrees of separation between you and anyone else - and thanks again!

Significant Others

Alternate Historian says, construction work continues at the Academy.

From Jan 1 2008 we're releasing a richer story format for TIAH. Also having the story in a yellow shaded area, but underneath will be hyperlinked metadata tags. We're so keen to get your feedback that we've created the first two posts for today in this new style.

The Site metre tells us that the average site visit is around half a minute, so we're got to design for web grazers. Therefore, we're thinking of more whacky ideas for positioning the stories. Perhaps two-on-two magazine style, or a text scrollable with just the first paragraph showing, or perhaps expand/collapse button to see the whole story..

Trouble is the HTML is machine generated by an OpenOffice spreadsheet with a bajillion text functions. We want to finalise the design this month. Before we forget how the HTML is generated, we'd love some feedback from our readers.

Please email the Alternate Historian with your comments on the already underway developments, or better still some new ideas!

In 2012, on this day the City of Mississauga announced an exciting new development in free Internet connectivity services. The following month WirelessMississauga would be upgraded at the Central Library on Burnhamthorpe and Living Arts Drive. Currently, citizens could enter their library pass code and connect their personal client device to the Internet. WirelessMississaugaPlus offered the new feature of Power over Ethernet through WiFi. This new geek heaven was amazing, whilst connected online to a billion webizens, you could really keep your head down. By drawing power from the network, you could sit in a building of a thousand human beings and avoid any form of social interaction at all, not even to quarrel over limited power sockets. It was just a fantastic social opportunity.

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In 1999, author Stephen King saw a lost pet poster stapled to a telephone post on the right shoulder of Route 5 - 'Lost, a gray tabby, loves children, call Center Lovell, Maine 7-7661'. Signs that his old friends were about, the low men in yellow coats.

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In 2010, Adolf Hitler's second successor Austrian-born Kurt Haldweim died in Berlin. His replacement, the new fuhrer Heinz Buckliger was a dynamic young technocrat who planned to introduce a progressive new program of change. Thwarted by conservative elements in the Nazi leadership, instead of guiding the future of the Greater German Reich and the Germanic Empire, Buckliger triggered a Soviet-style crisis.

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

Bachman	In 2010, fans of the author Stephen King received a tremendous shock in his farewell speech in Bangor, Maine. At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was such that an author was limited to a book every year at the utmost; any more, it was felt, was not acceptable to the public. King therefore wanted to write under another name in order to double his production.
He convinced his publisher, Signet Books, to print these novels under a pseudonym. The originally selected pseudonym was Gus Pillsbury; but at the last moment King changed it to "Richard Bachman" in tribute to crime author Donald E. Westlake's long-running pseudonym Richard Stark. The name Stark was used in King's novel The Dark Half, a novel about an author with a pseudonym. The surname was in honour of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, a rock and roll band King was listening to at the time. The foreword of each of King's books includes an open letter addressed to "Constant Reader". Fans had interpreted this as a personal message to themselves. Not so. At the farewell speech, King revealed that all of the books had been written by his "Dark Half" Richard Bachman and addressed to his alter-ego Stephen King, who was the real Constant Reader.
~ entry by Alternate Historian

In 1977, in a public relations disaster for the studio, 20th Century Fox entered into a badly timed length dispute with the African American actor James Earl Jones. Arising during bicentennial year, the perception was that dramatic impact of the role of Darth Vader had been mis-credited to a Caucasian actor. Director George Lucas never intended to use the voice of David Prowse, who portrayed Darth Vader in costume, because of Prowse's English West Country accent. Instead a voice over was provided by Jones. Jones cited the case of Linda Blair's Oscar nomination for The Exorcist, when there was a campaign for Mercedes McCambridge (who provided the devil's voice) to share the nomination. Jones found this ridiculous, and did not want to find himself put in a similar position with Star Wars. However, when he became aware of the prominence of the credit given to Prowse he was incensed but his request was made too late to alter the early editions of the move and hence the dispute. In fact the real credit was due to Ben Burtt who created the robotic voice of R2-D2 by filtering their voices through an electronic synthesizer. Darth Vader's breathing was achieved by Burtt breathing through the mask of a scuba tank implanted with a microphone

~ entry by Alternate Historian

Golda Meir	In 1972, a parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London destroys the entire building killing thirty diplomatic staff. Acting on intelligence that the bomb was placed by Syria, Prime Golda Meir appeals once more to the world to "save our citizens and condemn the unspeakable criminal acts committed." Privately she sanctioned an extension to Operation Wrath of God. Hundreds of Syrian nationals are innocent victims over the next decade as Mossad “set the boys loose”.
~ entry by Alternate Historian

In 1976, a Boeing 727 almost flew into a mountain near Isparta southern Turkey. The spiritual beings on the mountain prevented the death of of the 155 people aboard; when the Boeing set down in Istanbul, a relieved crew were greeted by flight traffic pashas of the Ottoman Empire.	Boeing 747
~ entry by Alternate Historian

DC-10	In 1989, a terrorist bomb exploded on-board a UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger. The shrieking spirits of the 171 passengers were trapped in the wreckage of the Union de Transportes DC-10 Series 30 craft until the Sultan of Sokoto could send deep-souls to their succour.
~ entry by Alternate Historian

In 1928, Adam West was born. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a bat-themed costume, and fight crime. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime.	Batman
At a fund-raising party, West met and falls for famous photojournalist Vicki Vale, recently arrived in town to cover the phenomenon and finds the courage to tell her : “I'm Batman”.
~ entry by Alternate Historian