Soulman

Jesus	In 1843, Ebeneezer Scrooge proves to be better than his word and gains a fine reputation as a kind and generous man who embodies the spirit of Christmas in his life. In addition, Tiny Tim, who lives thanks to Scrooge's assistance, becomes very close to the old man.
Is Love

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Sam and Dave

In 2005, Samuel David Moore finally spoke about his relationship with David Prater. Both American Soul and Rhythm & Blues (R&B) singers were members of the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave. They recorded and performed together from 1961 through 1981; Sam Moore was the tenor (higher) vocalist and Dave Prater was the baritone/tenor (lower) vocalist. Along with “Wicked” Wilson Pickett the leaders of the second tier of Atlantic/Stax’s mighty ‘60s soul roster (first division: Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding), the team of Sam Moore and Dave Prater produced some of the sweatiest, grittiest soul music ever waxed. Both were also serious drug addicts

An increasingly volatile personal relationship between the two performers, Sam reached a breaking point in their personal relationship in 1968. After Dave shot his soon-to-be second wife in 1970, Sam told Dave "I'll sing with you, but I shall never speak to you again." Dave was killed in a freak car accident in 1988, in which his body shot into a tree, severing his head from his torso. Later, Sam stated that "He didn't think of Dave, didn't think of him at all". In his Christmas broadcast, he admitted this was a mistake. Their sweatiest, grittiest soul music was the result of their harsh life experiences, and now, as an old man, he could find it in his heart to forgive him.

In 2015, the Department for Children, Families and Virtual Learning issued its annual report. Behavioural problems still continued to trouble the classroom, years after the last human teacher had been removed from the learning environment.

Hirohito

In 1923, Namba Daisuke assassinated Prince Regent Hirohito of Japan. His father, a Member of the Imperial Diet until the act of his son forced him to resign, and his married sister exiled themselves to Java in order to escape the disgrace which Namba, by his act, had brought upon the family. In November 1924, Daisuke was found guilty at an extraordinary session of the Supreme Court. When Chief Justice Yokota of the Supreme Court condemned Namba to be hanged, Namba defiantly yelled back: "Long live the Communist Party of Japan!" He was executed on the gallows only days later. The family reportedly changed its name to "Kurokawa".

In 1968, - Apollo Program: Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending humanity's first manned mission to the Moon. After launching on December 21, 1968, the crew took three days to travel to the Moon, which they orbited for 20 hours. While in lunar orbit the crew made a Christmas Eve television broadcast in which they read from the book of Genesis. It was the most watched broadcast to date; not one of the viewers had a clue what the book of Genesis was.

Apollo 8

Lenin

In 1929, Leon Trotsky was deported from the Soviet Union. His first station in exile was at Büyükada off the coast of Istanbul, travelling across Europe eventually to Mexico City. Frustratingly, he was unable to find the vampire hunters he required to return and end the misrule of Lenin. Following a series of strokes in the early 1920s, Lenin's body had become unserviceable and he now possessed the body of the rude Georgian, Comrade Stalin.

In 1972, on this day the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada Lester B. Pearson died. He had led the nation of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968, as the head of two back-to-back minority governments following elections in 1963 and 1965. An outspoken critic of Apartheid, Pearson, along with the leader of the British Liberal Party Jeremy Thorpe, was targeted by South African agents who quietly assassinated both men in the early 1970s.

Lester B Pearson

In 1846, the war with Mexico takes a bad turn for the United States when the inexperienced volunteers under the command of Colonel Alexander Doniphan are routed outside the Mexican city of El Paso. Doniphan had barely escaped defeat two days before against a more numerous Mexican force, and his resources were too depleted by that battle to give him what he needed to take El Paso.

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In 1988, the head of the Lockerbie air disaster investigation, Michael Charles denied that a twonky had been found amongst the uncovered wreckage from Pan Am flight 103. In a news conference just twenty-four hours before, Charles had intimated that an item found amongst the wreckage may hold the key to the Charles added that a suitcase discovered in the wreckage of the Boeing 747 had been sent for testing at a government research centre amid speculation it may contain evidence the crash was caused by sabotage.

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In 2625 AUC, the great Spanish writer Pius Barojus Nessius is born near Terraco, Spain. He came of age during the great Roman struggles of the mid-27th century, and his writing often reflected a lost quality, the melting of one generation into the next, with the permanent loss that entails.

In 1978, the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of Venezuela ratified a new constitution allowing the existence of non-socialist parties in the country for the first time since the American-assisted revolution of 1908. Comrade President John Anderson of the Soviet States of America declares that, although he regrets the movement away from the brotherhood of socialism by the people of Venezeula, the opening of democracy is nonetheless good.

Shepherds

Jesus	In 2007, the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows Ebeenezer Scrooge a strange vision of the far future. Portly parents (and children too!) consume vast quantities of packaged food in a shopping mall flooded with light. Huge amounts of money pass hands. Yet something is missing in this future. Despite the wild extravagance there's not nearly so much joy as at the 1843 Cratchit family christmas. Something is missing. Or rather, someone.
Is Love

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	In 5764 anno mundi, on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar European Jewry celebrated Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה‎, alt. Chanukah or Hanukah). The Festival of Lights commenced an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. The earliest known celebration of Hanukkah in Europe was the arrival of the Bethlehemite Rabbhi Yeshua Ben Jesse in Rome in 3761 anno mundi.
Hannukah

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in 1929, American courts had the good sense to ban that British pornographic tome, Lady Chatterly’s Lover. Once it was settled that the moral health of the nation stood to gain from the government determining what was good for the citizenry to read, the Department of Censorship was created and its secretary made a full Cabinet officer. Now, we only read what’s good for us.

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In 1996, NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X which is used on 98% of personal computers today.

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In 1984, British Horror Writer Graham Masterton published IKON, a tribute to Philip K Dick's 1964 counter-factual novel Man in the High Castle. Set in America in 1985, the once-proud nation has been reduced to an Oblast of the USSR with a powerless President. All because some twenty years earlier America secretly lost the Cuban Missiles Crises. Like Dick before him, the essence of Masterton's masterpiece is the book within the book, 'The Eagle Lies Heavy', a work of fiction written by a man called Graham Masterton. It describes a world where the Americans won the Cuban Missile Crisis - as a result, it has been banned by the Americans. Given his unpopularity with the world's two great powers, Masterton is said to live in a heavily fortified home and has become known as "The Author in the High Castle". Critics panned the concept but loved the story. After all, it was predicated on the US surrendering to Secretary Khrushchev. Today we know that Mr Kennedy meant it when he said “the problems of the world today are not susceptible to a military solution”. He had already surrendered by then.

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In 1812, the North American Confederation started a minor war against its Sioux neighbors when a group of N.A.C. colonists moved into land they mistakenly believed to have been ceded to them by the Sioux. Nearly 50 colonists were killed, along with an equal number of Sioux, before the dispute was settled and the N.A.C. colonists withdrew.

In 1946, magician and world-renowned skeptic Uri Geller was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Geller, an accomplished magician, took on all sorts of “psychics” in his native land, proving them to be phonies. He then took his act to America, where he helped unveil the truth behind notorious frauds such as Jeanne Dixon.

In 1980, in one of the most obvious attempted murders of the century, Sunny von Bulow was found in a coma in her Rhode Island mansion. Her husband, Claus, was arrested and quickly confessed, since the police had him dead to rights. He is currently serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Rhode Island.

In 1977, Home Secretary Margaret Thatcher returned from a Christmas reception at Number 10 Downing Streeting hosted by Interim Prime Minister Lord Louis Mountbatten and his deputy Major General Ord Wingate, DSO. Young people from the Norwich Choir showcase British youth of the “the right sort”. The smile wiped off her face, Thatcher worked through the night on plans for the forthcoming Miner's Strike. She would break the back of the Trade Union movement for sure, but first she needed to stockpile oil and coal like crazy.

Violent End

In 1973, on this day the Spanish Caudillo, General Franco, was killed in a car bomb attack in Madrid. The 78-year-old, his bodyguard and a driver died instantly and four other people were injured after a remote-controlled bomb was detonated as he passed. A massive explosion sent the car hurtling into the air and over the roof of the San Francisco de Borga Church where Mr Blanco had just been attending mass. The vehicle landed on the second floor terrace of a building on the other side of the church and a great deal of damage was caused in the area. No one has admitted carrying out the attack.

The General's death came 15 minutes before the start of a trial involving 10 of Spain's leading opponents of the Franco regime, one of them a Roman Catholic priest. They were arrested in a Madrid Church 18 months ago and were accused of unlawful assembly. Thousands of angry demonstrators have campaigned against the case and have already clashed with police. Commentators said the General's death must be seen in the context of this controversial trial and against the backdrop of his staunch support of General Franco's regime. Not since the Civil War, which ended in 1939, has a government minister died in such violent circumstances.

Carter	In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Raymond Lee Harvey had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of May 5, 1979 where President James Earl Carter survives the shooting at the civic center mall in Los Angeles. In this story, another man is hired to create a diversion so that Mexican hit men armed with sniper rifles could kill Carter; he fails and Raymond Lee Harvey shoots Carter with his pistol but misses. The consequence is that Carter is re-elected and implements a two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, bring peace to the Middle East.

In 2182, the United States General Accounting Office (USGAO) published economic and demographic forecasts up to the end of the twenty-second century. By 2200, America would be a quadrillion dollar economy with one billion citizens it was confidently predicted by the USGAO. One man thought otherwise, he had plans to return the Turtle Island to the First Nations by setting the clock back seven hundred years. And he had just obtained the means to do so.	C22 Jihadist

Suleiman

In 1522, Suleiman the Magnificent accepted the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Gibr al-Ţāriq and become known as the Knights of Gibraltar.

In 1989, the United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega and recover Extraterrestrial Technology (ET) buried in Panama. However, Noriega had beaten Bush to it, and the US Marines were confronted by Panamanian troops armed with futuristic weapons.	Bush41

Kicker

Jesus	In 1843, at the counting house Ebenezer Scrooge's Fred, entered to wish his uncle a "Merry Christmas" and invite him to Christmas dinner the next day. He is dismissed by his relative with "Bah! Humbug!" among other unpleasantness, declaring Christmas time to be a fraud.
Is Love

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In 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary) appears in a manifestation to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City. In 1648 Miguel Sánchez, the author of the first Spanish-language apparition account said that

this New World has been won and conquered by the hand of the Virgin Mary

in a reference to the conversion of the Americas to Roman Catholicism with the notable exception of the Amish and Mormons.

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In 2000, the United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore. Extreme pressure had been applied behind the scenes, but President Bill Clinton had greatest control of the executive and the judiciary. The comeback kid could grant pardons on his departure from the White House in a little over eight weeks time. The Bush family had been beated twice by the man from hope.

Reeve	"My epithet, 'the Just' derives from coinage. it concerns both the measure and the refinement of gold. When a coin contains the exact weight and purity of gold which it should contain, it it said to be 'just'. You should be aware, that the honesty of any man is revealed by the coin with which he repays his debts. ~ Reeve the Just In 2006, Tony Blair entered his final year of office. He was not sleeping well. On the previous night, he had suffered the phantasmagoric visit of Reeve the Just who had entered his study at 10 Downing Street. The conversation with the protagoniost was not what he wished it to be. His plans did not include any defense of himself: he meant to attack.
The Just

Just before he woke up screaming, Reeve had concluded - "You have confessed. I will go now and summon a magistrate. You will repeat your confession to him. Perhaps that act of honest will inspire you to confess as well the crimes you have committed upon the people of Iraq."

September 11

in 2000, the United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore. To unite the country, the Court proposes a joint inauguration followed by the candidates sharing the presidency with each serving a two-year term. Best practice had been established by an indecisive election in Israel during 1984 when Prime Ministers Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres agreed to the same power-sharing formula. Without the luxury of a full-term to plan and launch an invasion of Iraq, the Bush camp fall upon a pretext for invasion during Gore's two-year occupancy. Plans for a terrorist strike on the World Trade Centre are started in earnest.

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Vladimir Arutinian had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of May 10, 2005: while Bush was giving a speech in the Freedom Square in Tbilisi, Georgia, Vladimir Arutinian threw a live Soviet-made RGD-5 hand grenade towards the podium where he was standing and where Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and their two wives and officials were seated.

George W Bush

It landed in the crowd 18.6 metres (61 feet) from the podium after hitting a girl, but – incredibly – did not detonate because the red tartan (plaid) handkerchief wrapped tightly around it didn't allow the firing pin to deploy fast enough. Arutinian was arrested in July 2005 and admitted to throwing the grenade. He was convicted in January 2006, and was given a life sentence.

Hirohito

In 1941, India declared war on Japan. The decision was taken by British Imperialists acting falsely in the name of the people of the subcontinent. The Empire of Japan did not care, and dismantled the Raj during 1942 claiming a state of war existed between the two nations. Leaders of the Indian Independence Movement including Mahatma Gandhi were forced to re-evaluate their Quit India! Strategy which was now targeted at a wholly different kind of oppressor. Japan believed that it was creating a whole new order in Asia, and that required the displacement of American and European powers before further political development could be seriously considered.

In 2005, an Internet security attack is launched on the - Government's nuclear program from a $250,000 Windows 2003 Server Farm which is spoofed on the net as a PC133-style computer. Rat hacks into the hardened Fuel Enrichment Plant at 33°43′24.43″N, 51°43′37.55″E. Covering 100,000 square metres and built 8 meters underground, the plant is protected by a concrete wall 2.5 meters thick, itself protected by another concrete wall. The facility was previously considered impervious to Internet threats. The software for the fast breeder reactor core is subtlety modified by Rat. For a twenty-four period, Iranians are mystified as to the lack of enriched uranium and the output of garlic variant Texas Toast.

Rat

In 1893, quintessential movie bad guy Emanual Goldenberg was born in Bucharest, Romania. After coming to the United States as a boy, Goldenberg decided to become an actor, and won a scholarship to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He played a series of gangsters throughout the 30’s and 40’s, but his two most famous roles are as the slave foreman Dathan in The Ten Commandments and the elderly police assistant Sol in Soylent Green, both opposite leading man John Carter.

In 4629, chef Yuan Tseh Lee of the Hong Kong restaurant Sea Dragon Inn creates a small dessert treat to satisfy his clientele who needed something quick and not very filling. It was a small, crisp cookie that he folded into a knot. He personalized each one with an inspirational saying written on a scrap of paper stuffed into every cookie. The Fortune Cookie, as they came to be known, caught on like wildfire throughout the Chinese Empire, and Yuan was able to retire a very rich man.

In 1951, flash-in-the-pan conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Briefly famous after touting Ronald Reagan’s agenda in the 1980’s, his star plummeted back to earth with the triumph of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election.

In 1951, Joe Dimaggio, possibly the greatest living Town Ball player at the time, announced his retirement from the New York Metros. Dimaggio had been the envy of other men in America just because of his sporting skills, but he increased that sense of envy when he married Hollywood beauty Norma Jean Mortensen in 1954.

In 1957, singer Jerry Lee Lewis arranges to marry his 13-year old cousin Myra Gale Brown, but is stopped at the alter by Jane Mitchum, whom he is still legally married to. Although Lewis was incensed at Mitchum’s interference, she probably saved his career; who would want to listen to records from a man married to a 13-year old?