Only Anderson Could Go To Brazil

The state of TIAH

February 21st, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: Our Guest Historian, Stephen Payne, had a great suggestion – we haven't had a good contest in a while, so we're going to have an April Fool's Day Contest! Email us up to 3 entries for an alternate April 1st and we will post the best 10, with your own credit and link to your website (if you have one). We'll also see if we have enough credit for an ultimate winner to get a complimentary TIAH mug, but we can't promise anything on that yet. Get researching those alternate histories now, folks! The deadline will be March 29th.

in 1972, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, sets down in Air Force One on the tarmac of the Beijing Airport. Denounced by his opponents back home as a campaign stunt, the trip resulted in little real progress between the two giant nations because of the intransigence of the two ideological leaders – Mao refused to even entertain the notion of rapprochement with the US, and Nixon wouldn't bend without some kind of economic reform in China. Nixon came back to the US without any agreements, and privately lamented that the trip had been a failure. He lost the presidential election in the fall, and wags made up a new phrase about the trip: “Nixon can't go to China.”

in 1978, Comrade President John Anderson arrives in Brasilia, the capitalist super-city built in the previous decade to thumb its nose at the communist bloc control of the Americas. Comrade Anderson, one of the staunchest anti-capitalists of the Soviet States of America, was the only one capable of making that historic first step of approaching the western hemisphere's only capitalist power, because his socialist credentials were so impeccable. It even became a catchphrase - “Only Anderson could go to Brazil.”

Anthony Eden	In 1996 Harry Turtledove published the counter-history novel East of Eden in which he posed the Suez Question – what would have ..
.. happened if British Prime Minister Anthony Eden had weakened in the face of US opposition to the occupation of the Canal Zone? The outcome would be the loss of Anglo-French authority in the Middle East at a crucial time for the Western World as it sought to maintain a grip on oil supplies.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 2026 a consortium of open source developers buy the controlling shares of Microsoft, Inc for a nominal $1. The once great incorporation had collapsed as its business model had proven unsustainable at a time when Internet resources were universally considered free. The obsolescence of ..	Free Internet
.. fat client computers that were superseded by network-centric computing was the final nail in the coffin. George Bush had said as much when he announced the Communications Age in 1990, proving that perhaps he had 'the vision thing' after all.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Ross Perot	In 1992 Ross Perot was assassinated by agents of the profiteering military-industrial complex after announcing his intention to run in the 1992 U.S. presidential election on CNN's Larry King Live. His promise to get under the hood and fix the engine would have been an end to their racket ..
.. and they had firmly warned Perot that such an announcement would shorten his lifespan considerably.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City agents of the Nation of Islam including Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson attempt to assassinate Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz formerly known by the various names Malcolm Little, Detroit Red and Malcolm X. They fail, and Brother Malcolm ..	Malcolm X
.. developed the new strategy of inclusiveness he had embarked upon since the Hajj in April 1964. The trip proved to be life-altering. Malcolm met many devout Muslims of a number of different races, whose faith and practice of Islam he came to respect. He believed that racial barriers could potentially be overcome, and that Islam was the one religion that conceivably could erase all racial problems. Today America is no longer a country at war with itself, mostly due to the giant known as Little.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Beastly

Jesus	In 1843, Jacob Marley's ghost warns Ebeneezer Scrooge that his miserliness and contempt for others will subject him to the same fate Marley himself suffers in death: condemned to walk the earth in penitence since he had not done it in life in concern for mankind. Marley explains that Scrooge's fate might be worse than his because of his selfish life since Marley's death seven Christmases ago. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a chance to escape this fate through the visitation of three more spirits that will appear one by one.
Is Love

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In 1944, the Battle of the Bulge engages the forces of General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt in the Belgian Ardennes. The Germans split the Allied line in half, capture Antwerp and encircle four Allied armies, forcing the Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis' favour. The attack was planned in total secrecy, in almost total radio silence and not detected by Ultra.

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In 1916, the Russian mystic Grigory Rasputin (trans. 'ill-behaved child') is assassinated by a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov at the Yusopov Palace in St Petersburg. Rasputin played an important role in the lives of the Tsar Nicholas II, his wife the Tsaritsa Alexandra, and their only son the Tsarevich Alexei, who was believed to suffer from haemophilia. Less than a year later during Red October, it was revealed that the Tsarevich was actually another victim of the blood-sucking vampirism sweeping Russia.

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In 1770, one of the most tragic composers of the era was born in Bonn, Germany; Ludwig Van Beethoven, a student of the great composer Antonio Salieri, wrote fine music until 1802, when his hearing began to fade. By the end of the year, he was completely deaf, and turned to a reclusive life, away from people. The unfinished symphonies from his seclusion hint at masterpieces that never would be.

In 1928, author Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago, Illinois. But, it’s possible that was all just an implant from The Company. Count your electric sheep and go back to sleep.

In 1972, the South Chilean reactionaries abruptly left peace negotiations in Caracoa, Venezuela, citing intransigence in the Soviet States’ position. They wanted to unify their country under a single government, while the Americans were pushing for a continuation of the divided country Chile was now, half capitalist, half communist.

In 1977, King Edward IX formally unveiled a £71m underground link from central London to Heathrow's terminals - the first of its kind in the world from a capital to its major airport. Commuters and tourists can now travel from the centre of the capital to the airport direct on the Piccadilly Line in just 40 minutes. The King whose great-grandfather opened the "tuppenny tube" in 1890, paid tribute to underground staff as he unveiled the new service. "To those on whom the safe running of London transport depends, I extend my thanks," he said. "I now have great pleasure in declaring the extension formally open and wishing success to those who will manage the line and those who will travel on it."

In 1955, Adolf Hitler inaugurated new buildings in the centre of London Airport, part of a new complex designed to handle a growing number of air passengers. The Fuehrer arrived by car with the architect Albert Speer and was greeted by a guard of honour made up of air crews from the British and Commonwealth airlines, headed by BOAC Captain JT Percy. The daughter of the Minister of Transport, Sarah Boyd-Carpenter, presented the Fuehrer with flowers from around the world that had been flown in by four Commonwealth airlines. The name of the new buildings was only revealed at the end of the Fuehrer's speech as he unveiled a plaque naming it "The Reich Building".

In 1984, BBC News described the Gorbachev visit to Britain a 'disaster'. Mikhail Gorbachev, the man widely tipped as the next leader of the Soviet Union, has spent five hours in "very difficult" talks with the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, according to British Government officials. Soviet officials described the talks less than enthusiastically as "business-like". Topics discussed at Mrs Thatcher's country residence Chequers included ending the arms war and improving communications between the Eastern Bloc and the West. It came after Mr Gorbachev signalled his desire for reduced tensions when he arrived at Heathrow airport yesterday. "Opportunities for the prevention of nuclear war exist. These opportunities must be used to the full," he said yesterday. Margaret Thatcher informed the Cabinet that Gorbachev was not a man she could do business with.

In 2007, OBERLIN, Kansas (AP) -- A postcard featuring a colour drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl took almost a century to reach its destination. The card, mailed in 1914, just arrived in northwest Kansas. The Christmas card was dated Dec. 23, 1914, and mailed to Ethel Martin of Oberlin, Kansas, apparently from her cousins in Alma, Nebraska. Oberlin postmaster Steve Schultz says it's a mystery where the card spent most of the last century. He says: "It's surprising that it never got thrown away."

Ethel Martin is deceased, but Schultz says the post office wanted a relative to have the card. That's how it ended up with Bernice Martin, Ethel's sister-in-law. She says the 93-year-old card was apparently found somewhere in Illinois. "That's all we know," she said. "But it is kind of curious. We'd like to know how it got down there."

The card was placed inside another envelope with modern postage for the trip to Oberlin, since the one-cent postage of the early 20th century wouldn't have covered it.

"We don't know much about it," said Martin. "But wherever they kept it, it was in perfect shape. Perhaps it was these “Mlosh” cousins who are mentioned in the card?"

Bombing	In 1944, Vannevar Bush and James Conant saw that a workable atomic weapon appeared certain. Bush headed up the entire American scientific effort supporting the war and Conant oversaw the bomb program for Bush. They were the first to recognize that the critical Rubicon would be not when an atomic bomb was tested or used, but when a workable weapon came into being. They believed that once a workable weapon existed, there would be no putting the genie back in the bottle. The only practical issue left was how the weapons could be controlled. They rightly concluded that the only way to achieve control was for all nation states to surrender their sovereignty to an unprecedented degree to permit international control.
Hiroshima

They further believed that the only way nations would surrender so much sovereignty was by shocking their leaders and populations with a demonstration of the true hideous nature and scale of atomic weapons. That required that the bombs be actually used on cities. The most intriguing figures surrounding the atomic bomb project through Hiroshima and Nagasaki literally bombed world opinion into disarmament. The indelible and searing images of human suffering from Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the single most powerful source of restraint on their use. While there are films and pictures of tests, including demonstrations of weapons of incomparably greater potency than the weapons available in 1945, there is nothing as shocking as depictions of the effects on living beings. I would not claim that the fact that we have passed sixty years without further use of the weapons directly against any population is due solely to what happened in 1945. I do believe that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are of undeniable significance in producing this history. ~ Richard Frank, the author of Guadalcanal (1990), which won the General William Greene Award from the Marine Corps, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire (1999) and Bombed into Disarmament (2007) recipient of The Harry S. Truman Book Award. The three books were offered as Main Selections of the History Book Club. His contribution to the Pacific War Companion (Osprey Publishing, July 2005) reexamines one of the most controversial aspects of that war -­ the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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Robin Cook	"I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of parliament to decide on war."~ Robin Cook. On August 6, 2005, Cook was with Gaynor on the mountain Ben Stack in Sutherland, Scotland, when he suffered a severe heart attack. Some early reports suggested that he had died before reaching the summit, but according to his last SMS he had already climbed it and was descending, despite earlier reports that neither of the walkers had a mobile phone. Cook's wife said that he collapsed and that she had called out and attracted a stranger in order to use his mobile at 2:23 pm.
Pacifist

Due to the lack of time, Gaynor was not winched onto the helicopter and walked down the mountain with the wanderer. Cook was flown from the mountain at 3:01 pm, to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where he was pronounced dead at 4:05 pm. The post mortem revealed that Cook died of hypertensive heart disease, although the paramedics at the scene had speculated that he died of a broken neck. A full investigation in December 2005 pursued a more irregular line of inquiry. That the stranger was a secret police agent who had assassinated Cook by means of a ricin pellet fired from in a specially-designed umbrella. The full article is available at Wikipedia

Ted Hughes	"The celluloid of a photograph holds them well. Six young men, familiar to their friends. One imparts an intimate smile. One chews grass, one lowers his eyes, bashful. One is ridiculous with cocky pride - Six months after this picture they were all dead. This one was shot in an attack and lay calling in the wire, then this one, his best friend, went out to bring him in and was shot too. And this one, the very moment he was warned from potting at tin-cans in no-mans-land, fell back dead with his rifle-sights shot away. The rest, nobody knows what they came to, But come to the worst they must have done, and held it closer than their hope; all were killed." ~ Six Young Men by Ted Hughes (1957)
Poet

In 2008, Britain's long national nightmare ended when the last troops left Iraq. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had brought them home for Christmas.

Rasputin

In 1916, at the Yusupov's Moika Palace in St Petersburg an assassination attempt was made by a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov on the Russian mystic Grigory Rasputin. They served him cakes and pink champagne laced with a large amount of cyanide, enough poison to kill ten men. Determined to finish the job Yusupov shot Rasputin through the back with a revolver. Rasputin fell. The company then left the palace for a while. Yusupov, who had left without a coat, decided to return to grab one. While at the palace he went to check on the body, Rasputin opened his eyes, grabbed Felix by the throat, strangling him. Rasputin ominously whispered "you bad boy" in Yusupov's ear, and then threw him across the room and escaped. As he made his bid for freedom, the rest of the conspirators arrived and fired at him.

After being hit three times in the back, he fell. As they neared his body, they found he remarkably was still struggling and trying to get up so they clubbed him into submission; then, after wrapping his body in a sheet, they threw him into the icy Neva River. It was futile, in the words of Eagles' singer/songwriter Don Henley life they could not kill the beast.

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if the Iraqi sixteen had failed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario of April 13, 1993: Sixteen suspected terrorists, in the employ of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, smuggled a car bomb into Kuwait with the intent of killing Bush as he spoke at Kuwait University. The plot is foiled when Kuwaiti officials found the bomb and arrested the suspected assassins. Bush had left office in January 1993. On June 26, 1993, the U.S. Launches a missile attack targeting Baghdad intelligence headquarters in retaliation for the attempted attack against Bush. This limited response is contrasted with the full-scale invasion that follows the real-life assassination of Bush by Saddam's killers.

Bush

Camilla

In 2006, there was a mixed reaction to news that Camilla Parker-Bowles, was probably not murdered. The right wing press considered the Queen of Heartbreak to be a victim of the British Secret Service who were behind a cruel plot to prevent the monarchy falling further into disrepute.

In 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill prepared to board a plane at RAF Northolt to head into exile in the South Atlantic. Being optimistic, the pilot asked him if he expected to see the same country when he returned. Churchill thought not. Firstly, Operation Sealion, delayed by a year was close to completion with the Wehrmacht only 50 miles from the south bank of the Thames. Secondly, he had just approved plans to release Triffids throughout southern England in a scorched earth policy.

Triffid

Monteith's Forces Are Reduced Further

Today In Alternate History

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The Announcement

in 1891, with his occupation force reduced considerably, General Theodore Monteith is worried that the Kansans created havoc in Kansas City simply to weaken him. When he receives word that the rebels are attacking the Concordia fort in large numbers, he is forced to reduce the number of men he has in Topeka even further. He sends 5,000 men to Concordia, hoping that will be enough to ward off the rebels. He now has a little more than 30,000 men guarding Topeka, and is acutely aware that he is vastly outnumbered.

in 1999, Queen Gwen quietly begins taking King Arthur's place at a couple of official meetings, giving the excuse that His Majesty isn't feeling well. When the ministers attempt to reschedule to a time when the king can attend, she tells them, “I have my husband's full authority to act in his name, gentlemen. There is no need to postpone your business.” Although uncomfortable about this mild usurpation of authority, the ministers see no need to make a fuss about it, and Queen Gwen makes a few decisions in Arthur's name.

In 1955, American Mandate Commander Dwight David Eisenhower stood on the deck of the battleship Missouri, watching the sun set behind the city, turning the water golden again. A small group of Indochinese officers stood on the Saigon dock, a Vietnamese flag flying from a car behind them. Eisenhower saluted. "Fire a twenty-one-gun salute for the new republic, Captain, and for Ho Chi Minh."

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

In 10,191, AG fearing the rising power and popularity of Duke Leto Atreides amongst the noble houses of the Landsraad, Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV conspired with the brilliant and power-hungry Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Atreides were forced into an exchange with the Baron – their home world Caladan for the desert world Dune, the source of the most valuable commodity in the Universe, the spice melange.

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

Paris	In 1760, absolutely deserted is the six-thousand year old human settlement on the banks of the river Seine. No foot falls in the once-thriving ..
.. cités and no movement at all can be espied inside the Périphérique ring. Travellers no longer reach this crossroads between land and river trade routes. Paris, “The City of Light” (La Ville-lumière) is caste in darkness. Population Zero.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2012, at Camp David, Mr and Mrs George Walker Bush had a vigorous discussion. Shall we say it was only a little less violent than the nuclear exchange with the Axis of Evil countries that had extirpated life above ground and leave it at that? Condi wanted George to forgo a fourth term and pass the baton to her. If she ..	George Bush
.. was not to become the first African American President of the United States, who would? He said he had a “Charge to Keep”, and that closed the matter. His Daddy had bought and paid for the Presidency, it was in the family now. She said he underestimated and patronised her. It got somewhat escalated after that, and an outsider might be forgiven for catching a few obscenities. An outsider would have sworn Condi called him a red neck slightly before they started bashing each other.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Winston Churchi..	In 2999, the mind cast for the first instalment of “Personality of the Triple Millennia” was re-run across the networks. POT3M drew an even larger audience because of its oddness. Winston Churchill was the candidate, the context was the Fall of France in 1940 and the moment bare minutes after his set piece ..
.. speech. Which was briefly shown. “Let us brace ourselves for our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, 'This was their finest hour.'” MC Millennia asked the old lion for his predictions for the next month and the next thousand years, What Next? There was a brief pause followed by a long inhalation on the cigar. “I never leave a pub before closing time”, said Churchill, “and tonight will be no exception.” Unfazed, the mega personality MC Millennia signed him off, “Thanks for jiving with us tonight sir”, returning to the audience, “ and tomorrow night lets see what the other guy's got to say for himself!”.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1994, London Underground train number AEJX57B pulled smoothly into Liverpool Street Station. Its 10.30am in the morning and the station is calm with just a few late workers seated on the platform. Business as usual. AEJX57B was one of eighty five new car trains introduced by the Central Line Project at a cost of £761m. ..	Steve Payne
.. This major programme of works comprised new communications systems, modification of the power supply systems, civil engineering, tunnel restoration works between Shepherds Bush and Holborn, track replacement works and a completely new control centre in west London. So far, so good. The late workers, insofar as they noticed the impact of the £761m spend at all, would have said little. Still the seats were a lot cleaner than the 1962 rolling stock that had been replaced, and sometimes those small hygiene factors could change your day. A person could eat a muffin without fear of stomach upset, for example.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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A Reunion

August 23rd, 2007

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The Announcement

Don't forget - Birthday Contest for Steve – November 22, 1967. Send in an alternate birthday for him for us to post!

I went over to the alcove where she kept her holo equipment and plugged myself in. A woman's face appeared in front of me and asked, "Thank you for using TT of A. What number would you like to dial?"

"I'm not quite sure of the number. The name is Rosanto, Emilia Rosanto, and she lives on Set Lane in Thesylonica."

"Thank you. Hold for your call please." The woman's face was replaced with an image of a bell ringing gently every couple of seconds. After seven rings, Emilia's face popped up in front of me, her eyes bleary from lack of sleep. Since this was her normal state, I didn't think anything of it.

She grew immediately animated at seeing me. "Gabe! Oh my gods, it's so good to see you! You've got to come over, right away. Where are you?"

"I'm at Willie's. I wanted to get everybody together, see if we could maybe take a little trip out for a while. My last partner just found his paradise."

Emilia laughed and shook her head. "Everybody but you, huh, Gabe?" Her softly dark Mediterranean features were everything I've ever dreamed of in a woman, but Emilia refused to come with me to the Porno Universe. Some people just don't know what's good in life. "What was it this time? Gold raining from the sky? The hunter-gatherer world?"

"No, nothing so pleasant. Did you ever meet Patrice?" She shook her head. "He wanted the African world, where Europeans were slaves. I helped him make the European slaves realize that their condition was the will of God."

"So, you're feeling a bit slimy at the moment, is that it?"

"Basically."

"You poor thing." Her hand reached out and stroked me. I felt nothing, of course, but it was a nice gesture, nonetheless. "You want to come over? I have a guy here, but he's the understanding type." She winked at me. "A candidate for your dream world."

"You know I'd never refuse an offer like that, honey, but I need to call up the others. Are Sylvan and Moshe still living in Babylonia?"

"Well, Moshe is. Sylvan got carted off by a UFO almost three months ago."

"Damn it!" Sylvan and I had gone to grade school together. He was always one step ahead of the saucers. Until now, of course. "We're going to have to do something about the UFO's someday, Emilia."

"When you figure out what, you let me know, OK? Dartha and Inikia are here in Thesylonica, and I think Karlus moved to Roma, but I'm not sure. I don't think he's up to any more planewalking, though. You remember what happened last time?"

"It was just a small curse, and it stopped working once we got back to our home plane."

"The clap is hardly a small curse, Gabriel. Poor Karlus had to wear a diaper everywhere." She counted us on her fingers. "I think that's everybody. Two boys and three women - you'll practically be in your paradise, Gabe."

"If only. Can you let Dartha and Inikia know? I'll talk to Moshe and try to get hold of Karlus."

"He won't come. Trust me on this, Gabe. The man dripped for three weeks, he hates your guts."

"I'm very persuasive when I set my mind to it, Emi." I gave her my best evil smile. "And, if that doesn't do it, hypnosis works wonders."

"Some archangel you are. When and where?"

"Tomorrow night, and here at Willie's, I think. If she doesn't agree, I'll let everybody know, and we'll find someplace." I took a long look at her tantalizingly lovely features, framed by the black silk of her hair, and sighed. "It's been way too long, Emi."

"I'll get there a little early for the reunion." She blew a kiss at me. "See you tomorrow, love." Her face folded in on itself, and I was left alone with my fantasies.

I got hold of Moshe, but Karlus was simply not reachable. I guess the clap was a little more serious than I thought it had been. After hanging up on the third number suggested for a Karlus Maurelius in Roma, I gave up and went down to Willie's basement.

She was examining a huge painting, one that covered an entire wall, and whose subject reminded me of some of the more ambitious Italian works of the old masters. An alien was coming down from the clouds, bearing a chain in one hand and a UFO in the other. Various Asian figures were gathered about it, some in fear, others up in arms, but most bowing down to worship at the feet of the huge Arythiok. It was quite compelling. "Is this the new artist?"

"It's not his best, but it's certainly his most impressive. The subject matter is rather cliché, but the style makes up for it." She led me over to smaller, more unique pieces. "These present his talent much better." There were several statues scattered among a few framed works, and even a hologram. "Did you contact your friends?"

"Most of them. One of them was abducted, as you feared."

She shook her head in commiseration. "It is regrettable what some of my people do."

I stood between her and a spectacularly overdone wall-hanging. "Are you ever going to tell me why they take us?"

Her eyes became almond jades of embarrassment again. "Perhaps some day. But, I don't believe you're ready."

"You people always say something like that. You just don't want to tell me."

"That could be true, as well."

"You know, you could tell me anything. If you used to do it, you could tell me that. If you still do it, you could tell me. There's very little I haven't imagined as your answer to that question."

She fidgeted, and pointed at the hologram. "This piece represents Buddha under his tree, stylized into a technological image of a double helix. The displacement of the tree by a modern image creates a similar feeling of displacement in the viewer, don't you think?"

"All right, you don't have to answer me. You can stop being all uncomfortable now."

"Thank you." She brightened up right away.

"I needed to ask you if I could use your house to meet them all tomorrow night. Is that all right with you?"

"Of course." Her pensive look came back. "If I did tell you that I was one of the kidnappers, would that make a difference between us?"

"No."

"You answered that quickly."

I shrugged. "It's something I've been thinking about for a long time. It was the first thing that went through my mind when you wouldn't answer my questions." She smiled. "Are you going to answer them now?"

"No, but I think I'll have to soon. A pity. The mystery has been such an exciting part of our relationship."

"Naturally." I took her arm and led her over to some of the more esoteric offerings of her collection. "But, once we really know each other, don't you think that'll deepen our feelings for each other?"

"There is always that hope." She took a small statuette and handed it to me. "This was meant to be handled. Feel the astounding number of textures the artist has managed to place in a single piece? That's an Arythiok technique. Layer upon layer, appearing similar with one sense, showing an amazing complexity when experienced with another."

"That's an Arythiok technique, all right." She poked me, and I nearly dropped the statuette. "Careful, now. We don't want to add any more textures to this thing."

I put the statuette back in its place and we looked at the rest of the collection in silence. Willie's an impressive connoisseur, but art only captures me for so long, and then I go into sensory overload. Still, when you're a guest, it's best to play the appreciative ascetic when your host is. After the tour, she took me upstairs and offered me her bath.

"Am I that offensive?"

She turned black again. "No, no, I just thought that you might want to freshen up before dinner."

I sniffed at myself and agreed with her. "I'll just do that, then." I bathed slowly and luxuriously, enjoying it all. Willie has the most wonderful bubble bath you could ever hope to find. One of the fringe benefits of being a planewalker is finding all the places that are the best of everything.

"When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die!' Jacob became angry with her and said, 'Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?'

Aunt Lydia	"Then she said, 'Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family.' " ~ Rachel, wife of Jacob Genesis 30:1-3
Handmaid

The sons of Jacob suspended the US Constitution and replaced Massachusetts with the theocratic Republic of Gilead. The birth rate had fallen alarmingly and radical measures had to be taken to rectify the situation. The full article is available at Manitoba University

~ quotation from Margaret Atwood: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

In 1945, General-san Douglas MacArthur declined a reactivation order from US President Harry Truman who promptly fired him. Actually MacArthur had no ambition to receive the Japanese defeat. His Filipinos harriers were busy installing a rogue state in the Philippines, after all why else write the enigmatic message I will return?

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

In 1956, Izear Luster "Ike" Turner, Jr moved the Kings of Rhythm to East St. Louis where he met teenage, gospel-trained singer from Nutbush, TN, named Anna Mae Bullock, and promised her a chance to sing with his band.

Ike Turner Revue	That chance kept failing to materialize, until one night Bullock simply grabbed the microphone and started belting. Turner made her a part of his revue, changing her name to Tina. Ike had other plans for Tina – he wanted to control her free spirit. Predictably, after Tina became pregnant by the band's saxophonist, Raymond Hill her prospects receded sharply.
A second and final chance appeared - and then disappeared. In late 1959, Turner's band entered the studio to cut a song called "A Fool in Love" for the Sue Records label. The scheduled male vocalist was running late. Tina was about to be pressed into service by Ike, who thought the vocalist had failed to show up for the session - when he suddenly appeared, full of apologies.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Tony Blair	"I am a modern man. I am part of the rock and roll generation—the Beatles, colour TV, that’s the generation I come from." ~ Tony Blair Pre-election speech at Stevenage, 22 April 1997
Bliar

Demonstrating he was living in a time warp by describing the modern world in terms of symbols from thirty years before.

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

She stared at him, He stared at her. No one said anything for ages. The clock ticked. Outside a large ship honked. No one said anything for ages. She stared at him. He stared at her. The tension at the whaleing station was palpable. "Sardines on toast anyone?" said Father at last. And so it goes.

~ from Sardine-House-Five, a thrilling new pschyo novel by Kod Vongutfish

In 2002, in RM Muleuch's Twelve Legions of Angels Air Marshall Hugh Dowding returns to 1940. Without the distraction of his loving family he will make a success of Big Wing and win the Battle of Britain. He will delay German invasion until the autumn when the English Channel would be too hostile for the Kriegsmarine's landing craft. Trouble is the ghost of Keith Park dispatched Dowding to a 1940 that really needs him. The rescue flotilla heading towards Dunkirk has been decimated by Stuka Dive bombers. Dowding somehow must buy the Royal Navy another two weeks whilst the British Expeditionary Force fights for its life against the Wehrmacht.

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

In 1914, the British Army begins withdrawal from the Battle of Mons. It was in the period of this hectic retreat, when the British troops would have been so vulnerable to a pursuing enemy, that something extraordinary occurred. British troops claimed that they had seen an apparition in the sky of three angelic figures who appeared to ward off the attacks of the enemy. The retreat was successfully accomplished and the British troops lived to fight another day. The story of the Angel at Mons spread like wildfire through Britain. It became the subject of many articles and even artistic productions. After the war, Harold Begbie published a book on the phenomenon, On the Side of the Angels, in which he quoted some who had witnessed the apparition first-hand. One lance-corporal recalled: '"I could see quite plainly in mid-air a strange light which seemed to be quite distinctly outlined and was not a reflection of the moon, nor were there any clouds in the neighbourhood. The light became brighter and I could see quite distinctly three shapes, one in the centre having what looked like outspread wings, the other two were not so large, but were quite plainly distinct from the centre one. They appeared to have a long loose-hanging garment of a golden tint they were above the German line facing us." The Angel of Mons was in fact the entity known as Aiwass, summoned by Aleister Crowley at the request of a desperate British Government.

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

1973, seven years as Simon Templar earned Greatest living Englishman Roger Moore enough popularity (and credibility) among fans of detective fiction to earn him the role James Bond despite the inevitable comparisons to Sean Connery. Due to redrafting errors at the contract office at Eon Productions, Moore was offered a contract for life. His latest movie, Golden Years features a dramatic hand of the card game patience with "Jaws" at the Moonbase. Wikipedia reports - "The satire show Spitting Image once had a sketch in which their latex likeness of Moore, when asked to display emotions by an offscreen director, does nothing but raise an eyebrow. Moore himself has stated that he thought the sketch was funny, and took it in good humour. That series later featured a Bond movie spoof, The Man With The Wooden Delivery, with Moore's puppet receiving orders from Margaret Thatcher to kill Mikhail Gorbachev, and many other comedy shows of that time ridiculed Moore's acting, Rory Bremner once claiming to have had a death threat from an irate fan of Moore's, following one such routine. "

~ entry by Co-Historian Steve Payne

Castle Bonny	In 1943, movie critics give a varied response to Castle Bonny which premièred four days before on Broadway. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Cary Grant as Dick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.
The rekindled romance between Blaine and Lund was set during Great War II in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, off the Bight of Bonny – then controlled by the Nazi Protectorate of Britain. Rudy Behlmer emphasises the variety in the picture: "it’s a blend of drama, melodrama, comedy [and] intrigue". The other characters, in Rudy Behlmer's words, are "not cut and dried": they come into their goodness in the course of the film. Ronald begins the film as a collaborator with the Nazis, who extorts sexual favours from refugees and has Ugarte killed. Dick, according to Behlmer, is "not a hero, ... not a bad guy": he does what is necessary to get along with the authorities and "sticks his neck out for nobody". Even Ilsa, the least active of the main characters, is "caught in the emotional struggle" over which man she really loves. By the end of the film, however, "everybody is sacrificing".
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2127, Mullah Elijah Rafsanjani returns from a truth and reconciliation visit to the eastern seaboard of Turtle Island that being the continent renamed after the Italian merchant Amerigo Vespucci during the western epoch c1492 to 2081.	Brent
As part of his Peace and Brotherhood jihad he has embarked on a fact-finding mission by visiting the centres of the fallen Western Civilisation. On-board his light aircraft is a Eurasian stowaway, Brent. The plan that Brent has hatched is straight out of Rafsanjani's book, not that he would appreciate it himself.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Chiang Kai-Shek	In 1839, the United Kingdom captured Hong Kong as a base as it prepared to war with Qing China during the First Opium War. Just over one hundred years later, Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai Shek sought refuge in the Colony. Having arrived with the entire gold and foreign currency reserves of China, he joined British imperialists ..
.. in building a thumb-your-nose at Communism show case in the middle of Guangdong Province. Just as a small impurity can cause great stomach upset, Hong Kong created greater and greater problems for the Chinese Communist Party until it collapsed entirely in 1967. Thereupon the Kuomintang returned to Beijing, and set about building an even more powerful city than Hong Kong, a mission that was completed by the end of the century.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1952, on this day the charter of the Arab League went into effect. Head quartered in Cairo, Egypt, the League's charter states that the League shall co-ordinate economic affairs, including commercial relations; communications; cultural affairs; nationality, passports, ..	Anthony Eden
.. and visas; social affairs; and health affairs. This predecessor organisation to Nasser's United Arab Republic (UAR) greatly alarmed governments in London and Paris. Four years later, led by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, Anglo-France forces joined with Israel to strike the Suez Canal Zone, being forced to back down by President Eisenhower. Following the enlargement of the UAR to Saudi Arabia in 1980, official biographer Robert Rhodes asked, "who can now claim that Eden was wrong?"
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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