Plans

August 30th, 2007

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

Alt-Notes: In RATMANifesto, I'm going to collect the continuing timelines and give them a home, finally. That's one of the projects I've been meaning to do or some time, but couldn't get around to because I had to keep putting up new posts. RATMANifesto is also going to be a site for my projects, no matter what they are – I plan on putting up a podcast or two, provided we can swing the bandwidth.
In the meantime, he's Steve, our future Alternate Historian, with today's post. Look for changes in the design of the site tonight – Steve is looking to make TIAH simpler and more conducive to the kind of visual posts he has created for us.

	"Britain was in the wrong Union. Rather than the European Union, a group hostile to Britain and the English language, Britain belonged in the American Union, on the road to worldwide English-Speaking Union. " ~ Expansionist Party of the United States

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

In 1868, in Lee Allred's West of Appomattox US Secretary of State General Robert E. Lee agrees to a proposal from a powerful but nameless figure in the British establishment which will settle the dispute between the two nations. Lee agrees to an act of self-sacrifice by resigning his position, admitting that the execution of Confederate President Jefferson Davis for treason was a strike against democracy and the constitution of the founding fathers. He reflects briefly on the insincerity of Abraham Lincoln's inaugural address - You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and defend it." Lifting his pen to write the statement, he says - “I will pay the price to keep that oath”.

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

In 1946, former US Vice President John Nance Garner coined the term “Day of Infamy” when he delivered his Sinews of Peace speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. The anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fast approaching, and debate raged in the United States about Truman's falsehood in describing the cities as military bases, chosen to minimise civilian casualties.

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

In 2007, Northern Prime Minister John Kerry flew into London, England to meet with the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. “We know that we cannot solve any of the world's major problems without the active engagement of the U.K.," Kerry said in a statement to journalist Niall Ferguson at Heathrow Airport.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content from the climax of Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals has been made to celebrate the author's genius.

Gruffalo	In 2007, Dustin Hoffman was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for his potrayal of the Gruffalo. Famous for going to extreme lengths to get "in character", Hoffman had spent six months in the deep, dark wood eating scrambled snake, owl ice cream and roasted fox.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

"Old Blood and Guts" Part 4 (1945-1965) - Robert L. Thompson subsequently admitted on his death bed that Eisenhower had General George Smith Patton III assassinated; that the auto accident in which Patton broke his neck was not an accident at all. Patton was planning either to retire or resign his commission, and enter politics. Given his popularity with the American people and the respect in which he was held by his men, it is entirely possible he could have won the same nomination his erstwhile friend accepted. Evidence suggests that the American public shared Patton's assessment of the Soviet threat. Patton's biography notes "[The] course of World War II would lead these two men to very different ends: one to the office of President of the United States and the other to a soldier's grave on a foreign shore." We now know that these different ends were by design and not by accident.

~ alternate obituary from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to re-examine the significance of a controversial historical figure.

In 1963, Kwame Nkrumah, founder and first president of the modern Ghanaian state delivered a historic breakthrough for the troubled people of New Africa in their centennial year. During the War of the States, the North had refused to enlist African Americans soldiers. Whites had been ejected from from the South after devastating epidemics had destroyed the Confederacy. After the founding of New Africa, African Americans found that their only common language was the oppressor's English. Some refuse to speak until a better tongue was found. A true visionary, Nkrumah was much more than an African anti-colonial leader. He was also one with a dream of a united Africa which would not drift into neo-colonialism. The people of New Africa understood that unity around the English medium was the key to Ghana's success in nation building, a necessary step given the hundreds of languages of West Africa *. Silent no more, New Africa strode forward into its second century with renewed confidence, taking is place amongst the nations.

~ variant from Steve Payne: extensive use of original content has been made to celebrate the genius of Suzette Haden Elgin's classic Hush My Mouth.

* Author's note - Even today in 2007 the Bible has not been translated into all the language of every micro-ethnicity.

Von Runstedt	In 1943, rioters overwhelm defending Fascist Blackshirts to storm Buckingham Palace. British Prime Minister Oswald Mosley and King Edward VIII are seized and hung from lampposts on Whitehall. Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel issued a command instruction to German forces in Britain that the occupation was over and the Wehrmacht should cease further combat operations.
FeldmarschallKarl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt shot Rommel dead with a service revolver. “Death before dishonour” he said before also shooting himself in the head. He was thus unavailable to confirm whether his final statement referred to the cessation of hostilities, or the release of of huge quantities of poison gas just three days before at the liberating invasion forces in Dorking, in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2003, from behind a one-way mirror in Paddington Green Police Station, the Prime ..	Paddington Green..
.. Minister of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland observes the two interviewees, twenty-second century fugitive Brent and first Asian QC Kim Hollis. Urgent investigations are being pursued in relation to the apparent suicide of the Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith. That suicide had prevented Goldsmith from issuing confidential legal advice that British involvement in a land invasion of Iraq would be legal despite the absence of a UN Security Council Resolution explicitly sanctioning participation by the “coalition of the willing”. Now the whole schedule for the invasion was delayed, damn!.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

General-san	In 1945, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur landed at Atsugi Air Force Base with instructions to accept Japan's surrender. Swiftly installed as military governor and de facto Head of State, it was some time before the United States realised that Brass Hat had no intention of letting going of the reins of power.
The incredible story of how General-san crushed post-war Japan under his heel was described in the biography "The Rising Sun at Dusk" by Jack Nimersheim, published in Alternate Tyrants by the editor Mike Resnick in 1997.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 2003, on this day the compendium “A Collection of Political Counterfactuals” was published. Simon Burns' masterful sequel "What if Sirhan Sirhan had missed?" was a keynote contribution, considering the scenario where Robert Kennedy had served as U.S. president from 1969. The essence of Burns' masterpiece ..	Snake Eyes
.. is the competition of mysterious forces in Los Angeles. Two green pinpricks are amongst the ocean of eyes who watch the Kennedy's car arrive at the Ambassador Hotel. The presidential candidate enters a service area to greet supporters working in the hotel's kitchen. As he enters a crowded kitchen passage way, he notices a young man with a t-shirt banner which declares Snake Eyes watching you. Kennedy instinctively ducks, and the assassins bullets thud into the kitchen wall as the 24-year Palestinian assassin is bundled to the ground by security guards. The novel ends with RFK speaking to Neil Armstrong in the Sea of Tranquillity as his brother's goal “to send a man to the moon in this decade” is achieved.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Unforgotten

Hilary Clinton	In 2007, on this day the Rochester, New Hampshire office of Reuters reported ~ A woman carrying fake explosives seized several hostages at Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire campaign office on Friday before surrendering peacefully to end a tense standoff. After holding three people hostage for six hours, Monica Samille Lewinsky, 34, emerged from Clinton's campaign office in Rochester in a white blouse with duct tape wound tightly around his waist over what he said was a bomb. "It was for me and my campaign an especially tense and difficult day," the New York senator and former first lady told reporters in New Hampshire. The state's January 8 presidential primary vote helps kick off the state-by-state battle for the Republican and Democratic nominations ahead of the November 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Candidate

New Hampshire State Police Col. Frederick Booth said Lewinsky had strapped highway flares to his body, held a detonator that gave the appearance she was holding an improvised explosive device and demanded to speak with Clinton. Clinton had offered to cooperate, Booth said, but police negotiators did not want her to talk with Lewinsky. Police said there was no bomb. "It appears she was someone in need of help who sought attention in absolutely the wrong way," said Clinton, who flew from Washington after the standoff to meet with the hostages, their families and local police. Clinton, who cancelled a speaking date in Virginia immediately after news of the incident broke, said she would stick with earlier plans to campaign on Saturday in Iowa. "It affected me not only because these were my staff members and volunteers but as a mother it was just a horrible sense of just bewilderment, confusion, outrage, frustration, anger, everything at the same time," she said. Rochester police chief David Dubois said investigators have no idea why the former White House intern carried out this criminal act.

.

Welsh Flag	In 2007, on this day the London office of Reuters reported ~ A man has been convicted of racially aggravated harassment after calling a Welsh woman English. Michael Forsythe was sentenced to 10 weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, after being found guilty of racially aggravated disorderly behaviour, a court official said. Forsythe received the sentence at Welshpool Magistrates Court on Tuesday and was also ordered to pay 200 Welsh pounds in prosecution costs. The former lorry driver, who is originally from Northern Ireland, but lives in the Kingdom of Powys, Mid Cymru, called Lorna Steele an "English b-" during an argument after he collided with her parked vehicle in the Welsh market town of Newport in February. Forsythe has attacked the prosecution as a waste of time and money, according to the Daily Mail newspaper. "I find it unbelievable that I've been prosecuted for this," he said. "I've travelled all over Europe as a lorry driver and never had any problems with anybody and now they're officially calling me a racist. "It's political correctness gone mad."
Wales

.

Presley

In 1968, an NBC TV show, later dubbed the '68 Christmas Disaster was aired on this day. Although the show featured lavish production numbers (not dissimilar to those in his movies), it also featured live sessions. Presley was extremely nervous about recording live. Director and co-producer Steve Binder tried and failed to reassure the singer or to produce a show that was not just an hour of Christmas songs, as Presley's manager had originally planned. Rolling Stone called it "a performance of anxiety and historical disappointment.

In 1919, the bursar of All Souls College met with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford. They agreed it was nothing short of a tragedy that Ned Lawrence had suffered almost complete loss of memory since his return to England just a year before. Trouble was that Lawrence had enormous respect for Winston Churchill. Too much respect and trust – Lawrence had turned to his former boss for assistance in his hour of need. Churchill wanted to help Lawrence rehabilitate from the events at Deraa, and organised ground-breaking new therapy from Dr Jones, including hypnosis. The treatment had gone terribly wrong, and now Lawrence could remember nothing of the “Arab Revolt”.

Détroit Aéroport	In 1990, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 collided with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway. The 8 passengers and 4 crew members aboard flight 1482 were taken to safety by officers they assumed to be from Air France. Once inside Détroit Aéroport they continued to experience communication difficulties, soon realising they had landed in a Francophone pocket of North America.

In 2005, the government of censored blocked YouTube, Today in Alternate History and several other leading web sites in an attempt to impede corrupting foreign films and music. Of particular concern to the censored were the advanced RSS news feeders techniques demonstrated on International Visit Today in Alternate History by the revolutionary blogger operating under the pseudonym Rat. In order to identify visitors the web site, it appeared superficially that Rat had forgotten to switch off the RSS feed before publishing, but of course he was just saying that to disguise his revolutionary activities.	Rat

Eden

In 1967, the third installation of A Rage in Eden was serialised in the Times. Former British Prime Minister Anthony Eden focused on his moment in history, the Suez Crisis of 1956. Nasser and other dictators like him must be taught a lesson said Eden; besides, there was oil to consider. Churchill met with Eden at Chequers the Prime Minister's retreat to discuss strategy, both quickly agreeing that neither had become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.

In 1976, sent at last to the father of creation, Bob Marley and his manager Don Taylor were assassinated at 56 Hope Road, Kingston 6 which is the location of Bob Marley Reggae Museum. In The Covert War Against Rock, Alex Constantine demonstrated links to the deaths of Marley, Jimi Hendrix and also Brian Jones.	Bob Marley

Yellow Fever Epidemic

The state of TIAH

August 13th, 2006

in [time unknown], Najib Kasem recommends moving the Pokor away from the brown planet they are currently orbiting. “We haven't finished translating their language, but it seems remarkably similar to the language of the Starwalkers, and I can tell that there is some hostility occurring on the planet's surface. They're in the middle of a war.” Commander Patterson has to explain the concept to the Quarai crew, but the P'tar ambassador understands immediately. She tells Captain Mawrao that the ship needs to be evacuate immediately. As the Pokor thrusts away from the brown planet, its sensors detect several ships breaking orbit and heading towards them. “I don't think I've ever asked you this before, Captain,” Commander Patterson said to Mawrao, “but what defenses does the Pokor have?” Mawrao tells her, “We have force shield, we have pulse weapon that disable electrical equipment; that's about it.” Commander Patterson says, “The Eagle has a nuclear drive that can be turned on our opponents if need be.” The Quarai captain is reluctant to initiate hostilities, though. “Maybe we should see if they can be negotiated with.” The ships from the brown planet surround the Pokor within minutes, and Kasem and the Quarai translator Monkar attempt to radio them a message of peace and friendship. Their signal is returned by a brief speech in what Kasem confirms is the Starwalker language, and he replies remarkably well in the same language. Their ship is seized by some unknown force, and they are redirected back to the brown planet. “I don't think they mean us harm,” Kasem says, somewhat unconvincingly. Mawrao and Patterson consider activating the Jump device, but think that they might bring these ships with them in the jump field. The crew brace themselves for whatever awaits.

in 1878, Memphis restaurateur Kate Bionda dies of yellow fever, the first of millions as the disease decimated the American south and midwest. Panic gripped the young American nation as quarantines initiated to stop the spread proved too porous to be effective. Both mosquitoes and people break through the quarantine lines, and even the military is unable to contain people who are too scared to realize that they are dooming anyone they run towards. Tennessee becomes a charnel house, with virtually the entire population dead within weeks of Ms Bionda. The states surrounding Tennessee suffered 90% casualty rates, and the disease caused deaths as far away as Greenland and Panama before finally subsiding. With this epidemic hitting just as they were nearly finished rebuilding from their Civil War, the American nation, and most of the North American continent, lost their place in world affairs, and the English-speaking nations of the new world never became major players on the world stage, unlike Brazil in South America.

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The Beast Leaves Rome; Homosexual Rights Victory

The state of TIAH

June 7th, 2006

in 682, the young prophet known only as The Beast brings his followers out of Rome, where the Christians have become fearful of his strength. Those who would reject the One God and follow the old pagan ways are drawn to his promise of a paradise in this life rather than the next. The church fathers, for whom this life was already a paradise, sensed that his paradise would involve much discomfort for them. A proclamation went out that The Beast was a heretic and blasphemer, and all good Christians were to shun him. With this death sentence hanging over his head, The Beast traveled to the north with his band of followers and started converting the northern barbarians to his cult.

in 1977, Dade County, Florida’s anti-discrimination law, which explicitly included homosexuals as a protected minority, narrowly escaped repeal in an initiative led by singer Anita Bryant. Enraged at this defeat, Ms. Bryant crusaded across the country in a successful effort to halt other so-called gay rights laws from being enacted. America's homosexual community banded together because of this attack on their civil rights, and formed the Dignity Watch, which worked to elect homosexual leaders into political positions to advance their cause. In spite of Ms. Bryant's strident attacks, they managed to elect Key West Mayor Alfonso Rivera governor of Florida in the 1988 election, and soon had their own caucus in Congress. In 1997, Ms. Bryant finally gave up her struggle against homosexual rights and made a statement that she had been wrong to fight Dignity Watch all those years.

in 1978, Mark Wilhight is allowed out for the first time since his transformation, and he accompanies Jedediah P. Carver on a “hit” against someone who has cost Mr. Carver some money. “Kid,” Carver tells Wilhight, “I'm gonna tell you about the Code now. You listen good; cuz if you break the Code, I break you. Got it?” Wilhight acknowledges him, but has found it difficult to speak coherently the last couple of days. “Code says we only go after each other. Code says lethal force can't be used except by general agreement by everybody involved. Code says we can harass a civilian, threaten 'em, maybe even rough 'em up a little – but kill a civilian, and every one of us'll be down on you like a ton o' bricks. Never get caught by the civvies, either – you get caught by civvie military, and we decide you ain't worth springin', we'll just kill you. There's more, but I think that's all you need right now.” With that brief lesson, Carver leaps over the fence guarding the junk yard they have come to, encouraging Wilhight to do the same. Much to his surprise, Wilhight is easily able to leap the fence, and together, the pair find and severely beat the owner of the junk yard, one Silas H. Richards.

in 2017, the crew of the Eagle jumps when their radio starts speaking to them in a heavily accented English. “Hello, hello, hello, how you going? Breaker, breaker, come back good buddy.” This strange sentence is followed by something in an incomprehensible language, then the speaker begins again in English. “This is Kikoa of the Quarai vessel Quorato, I am 14 pocha from your location. You need help, my friend?” Commander Eileen Patterson shrugs, picks up her radio and says, “This is Commander Patterson of the Eagle. We would like some help, yes. How do you know our language?” In delighted tones, Kikoa informs the Eagle's crew that his race, the Quarai, first intercepted earth radio and television transmissions some time ago, and learned several languages from them. Kikoa is apparently some sort of asteroid miner, and it saw the comet appear and heard their radio signals to each other, and deduced that they were from earth. As the Quorato approaches Pindar-Asaki, the Eagle crew sees that the alien ship dwarfs the comet they are on. It suggests that they fly their ship up into the cargo bay of the Quorato, and they can continue their conversation from there. Just before breaking contact, it asks, “You have Red Dwarf? Is my favorite show.”

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

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Day Of Infamy

The state of TIAH

January 17th, 2007

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Alternate Historian's Note: We have a side-project that was announced over the weekend – a collection of several timelines with more-or-less complete stories inside them – The Fall, the Tolman timeline, the Mormon War and more – that will be up for sale on Lulu, as soon as we have it edited together. If you would be interested in this, or would like to suggest something for inclusion in the collection, please email me and let me know. Meanwhile, enjoy Guest Historian Stephen Payne's entry for today, followed by the continuation of our NaNoWriMo novel. Speaking of which, Guest Historian Steve Payne would like to thank both Eccles and Cheryl for pointing out that the extinction of penguins in the Northern Hemisphere in 2093 reported on January 15 is impossible given the simple fact that they live in the Southern Hemisphere. This entry has been amended and sent to the editor of Today in Alternate Geography :-) A full investigation has been launched inside the Academy and questions have been asked of Mr Payne's geography teacher!

Friedrich Paulus	In 1944 a turning point in the Great Patriotic War is reached when troops of the British Oblast accept the surrender of General Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus as the siege of Londongrad is finally raised. Within two years Tsar Alexei Nikolaevich and his British Cousins will accept the surrender ..
.. of Nazi Germany at Luneberg Heath, establishing Romanov hegemony across the continent of Europe.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1942 the 'day of infamy' pre-emptive strikes by the Axis Forces on Mers-el-Kébir and Martinique known as 'deux six un un' (2611) are avenged as the La Grande Armée Afrique shatter the British Eighth Army at Tobruk. 'The Full Monty' enters the English Language as a synonym for catastrophic ..	Charles de Gaul..
.. defeat. The gentleman in question flees westward in a staff vehicle with deputy Claude Auchinlech. Entering a sandstorm, their gyrocompasses spin out of control and they realise they are completely lost until the storm clears and they arrive in..
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

George Washington..	In 1776 the defeated General George Washington is astonished by the generous ..
.. final settlement terms being offered from King George V at Buckingham Palace. Prepared for the humiliation of crushing terms for the vanquished republicans in the Colonies, rather King George V proposes a genuine partnership for Anglo-America based on local representation and self-governing taxation. 'No victors, no vanquished' chips in his shadowy adviser Ernest Shackleton by way of explanation.
~ entry by Steve Payne from counter history in context - you're the judge!

In 1819 Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Baja California, the predecessor nation to a twenty-first century mega state on the west coast. Today Spanish speaking citizens enjoy the world's highest per capita income and literacy rates.	Simón Bolívar
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

After(cont.)
Mike pulled into the parking lot of the motel and killed the engine on the SUV. “OK, let's see if we can find a way into New Mexico,” he said, tumbling out and heading to the back to get their things. Steph walked into the lobby and tried to look like a lottery winner.
“Hi,” the old woman at the counter said. “Y'all just barely made it before curfew.” She took a look at the white man outside at the SUV and the black woman in her lobby, and said suspiciously, “You gonna need two rooms?”
“Three,” Steph said, as bubbly as she could. “One for me, one for my kids, and one for my driver.”
“Your driver?” The woman looked a little relieved, as well as curious.
“I won the lottery,” Steph said, smiling and laughing, just like she'd practiced in the car. “What timing, huh?”
“Oh, my goodness,” the woman said, pleasantly flustered. “Well, congratulations.”
“Thank you.” They stared at each other for a second before Steph prompted, “My rooms?”
“Oh, yes, yes, mercy me.” The old woman took out a registry and looked for an empty. “You want 'em all together?”
“If you've got them.”
“We do. Soon's people could leave yesterday, they skedaddled out of here like the devil was chasin' 'em. Y'all are the first people to show up since then.” She looked outside. “Not that many people wanna be this close to the border with New Mexico.” She said the state's name with obvious contempt. “Figures that all them immigrants would try to take it back, you know?”
“Mm-hmm,” Steph said, non-committally. “My rooms?”
“Yes, ma'am.” The woman made a note and said, “That'll be $142.50, please.”
Steph peeled a few notes off her roll, impressing the woman, and handed them to her. “Keep the change.”
“Yes, ma'am.” The old woman surrendered the room keys and said, “They're on the other side of the building here, by the pool.”
“Thank you.”
“You're very welcome.”
Steph walked back outside and handed a key to Mike and one to Joan. “We're three together by the pool,” she told them. “Let's get into the rooms, set our things down, and then we'll get together in Mike's room to look at the map.” She looked at Mike. “Sounds like a plan?”
“You're the boss,” Mike said, smiling.

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Nanopolis

July 26th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian's Note: Here's a fragment from an introduction to a role-playing game I'm writing. Which reminds me – I want to know how many gamers we have reading TIAH. If you're proud of your dice, shout out and let us know!

In the world of Nanopolis, there are the normals, there are the supers, and there are the villains. The villains plague the normals, and the supers plague the villains, and the balance of the universe is right. Deep underneath all of this, though, is The Secret.
There is something that everyone feels is not quite right about the world. The feeling is strongest in Nanopolis, where the concentration of supers and villains is the highest in the entire world. The strongest supers, the mightiest villains, and the most important normals are among the 15 ½ million inhabitants of Nanopolis. It is the largest city on the planet, and the most troubled. It is estimated, (because accurate numbers are impossible to get), that up to .5% of the population is super or villain. That’s an astonishing 77,500 supers and villains! Among the general population, the occurrence of 1 super or villain among 100,000 normals is a freak occurrence; in Nanopolis, it’s 1 in 200.
Because of its reputation as the home of the abnormal, Nanopolis attracts many bizarre people of all three persuasions, and is a tourist mecca that offers the jaded traveler the opportunity of witnessing struggles between beings of God-Like powers. It attracts millions of visitors, and is the center of thousands of businesses. It is definitely a city worthy of being a super-home.
The Secret threatens to bring all this down.
The Secret has been a rumor for thousands of years, when the first divisions of man were noticed and cataloged. Many have sought it; normals because they yearned for the power they heard it would provide; villains for the wealth and control it was rumored to bring; and supers who hunted it to expand the knowledge of man. None have ever found it. At least, none have ever found it and lived.
There was a villain who was supposed to have found it. It was in the golden age, and he had been working for the Nazis. His name was Herr Hammer, and he had been known for 2 things - a Herculean strength and a God-Like intelligence. There are many who believe that if he hadn’t gotten caught up in Hitler’s search for exotic items of occult and religious power, and subsequently disappeared, he would have tipped the balance to the Axis side in the Great War.
Rumors of Herr Hammer popped up, time and again, for 20 years after the end of the war. Then, during the involvement of American troops in Vietnam, an army troop of 100 normals found him. The one who managed to escape told the Patriotic Five of his whereabouts, and they sought to capture him for trial on war crimes. The Patriotic Five was a powerful group; they were easily the match of Herr Hammer, especially since he was in his 60's at this time.
2 members of the Five came out of the jungle. Blue Witch was in a coma, and she died a few weeks later of a cerebral hemorrhage. Percepto, who had carried her out, was not in much better condition. He was checked into a mental institution because he couldn’t stop raving about how the nature of reality was all a lie. The only thing that the doctors believed when he spoke was that they had found Herr Hammer. Percepto is also now in his 60's, still alive, but deteriorating. His once-Legendary mind is all but gone, and his ravings are unheard. The staff at the military hospital in Nanopolis keep tight security around him; no one has ever been told why.
The century has just turned, and the new millennium is beginning. There are challenges for supers everywhere in Nanopolis, and many opportunities for fame and honor. But, also the challenge of The Secret lives on, and until it is revealed, there will always be work for the supers to do...

In 1941, at Sidi Omar on the Egyptian Border a man in Berber dress shouted "Herr Lawrence!". Unsnapping the catch of his holster, Loose Cannon Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence strode towards him. "Your guards have not heard of German efficiency." said the man, "No matter, let me introduce myself - I am Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny and I have an important message for you from General Rommel."

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

"Oh yeah in france a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same
Prince	At home there are seventeen-year-old boys And their idea of fun Is being in a gang called the disciples High on crack, totin' a machine gun” ~ Lyrics to “Sign o the Times” - Click to Play Sample
Dystopian Genius

Describing the unimaginably dystopian America of Prince's imagination at Lyrics Astraweb

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

In 1940, a turn on the Wheel of If had transformed New York DA Allister Park into Celtic Judge Ib Scotlung. Charged with the duties of the Pugnacious Peacekeeper, Park arrived in the Tawantiinsuujan capital of Kuuskoo, on what he thought of as the northern coast of Panama in this America. Whilst participating in the religious celebration of Patjakamak, Scotlung was amongst a crowd attacked by agitating rogue Islamic insurgents of Dar Al-Harb. He saved the life of a young widow, Kuurikwiljor. Maybe, just maybe on this Wheel of If the bachelor Allister Park would finally find a mate, and marry. Even less likely, he thought, he would prevent the agitators from stirring the border dispute between Tawantiinsuuju and Dar Al-Harb into outright war. Park asked Kuurikwiljor to write down the belief system for his study, surprising the Tawantiinsuuju, true believers who memorized Patjakamak

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

In 2009, the TV networks presented episode seventeen of So What If?. Historian Philip Guedalla examined the defeat of Ferdinand's army at Lanjaron in 1491. An overview of the long history of the great, enlightened Kingdom of Granada follows the Moors' victory in Spain.

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

Esperanto book ..	In 1887, L. L. Zamenhof published "Dr. Esperanto's International Language" in Russian on July 26 in Warsaw, and over the next couple years later editions were published in Russian, Hebrew, Polish, French, German, and English. Zamenhof declared, "an international language, like a national one, is common property."
Zamenhof signed the work as "Doktoro Esperanto" and the title Esperanto stuck as the name of the language which, in Esperanto, means "one who hopes". The fathers of the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris needing hope for a shattered continent. They saw clearly the opportunity to build a new Europe around a common language, building the foundations for today's Komunumo (community).
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1945, the Labour Party won the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide. Decisively beaten, Churchill and the Conservatives were generally considered to have run a poor campaign in comparison to Labour; Churchill's statement that Attlee's program would require a Gestapo-esque body to implement was then considered to have been particularly poorly-judged.	Big Brother
However, like so many of Churchill's statements, it was extremely far-sighted. George Orwell's described this most authoritarian of regimes in his brutal political satire 1948, with Big Brother a thinly disguised reference to Clement Attlee.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Moncada Barrack..	In 1953, Freedom Fighter Fidel Castro died leading an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus ending the Cuban Revolution. The remaining rebels were tried and sentenced for their role in the attack, Che Guavera giving a four hour speech, concluding with the words "Condemn me.
It does not matter. History will absolve me", in his defense. They were released after an amnesty in 1956.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1968, US President Hubert Humphrey accepted the proposals of South Vietnamese opposition leader Truong Dinh Dzu advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war. The coalition rooted out the corruption which had bedevilled the Republic of Vietnam, leading to a resurgence in ..	Humphrey
.. support from the population. A formal peace treaty was concluded at Paris the next year as Hanoi recognised the reduced prospect of victory over a more formidable neighbour.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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Monkeys

July 8th, 2007

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The Announcement

Andrea was roused from her work by Monica leaning her head into the room and knocking on the wall. “Grandpa says to come on over for the cookout.”
Andrea looked at the clock on her computer. “God, it's that late already?”
“I'm just gonna pack up my pie, and I'll be ready in a couple minutes.”
“Ok, just give me a few minutes here, then I'll be out.”
Monica shook her head. “Don't zone out again. I wanna get to the cookout while there's still somethin' to eat.”
“You can always have your pie.”
“Ha, ha.”
Monica retreated to take of her offering to the cookout, and Andrea tried to wrap up her thoughts enough to where she could come back and pick it up. She was fine with public speaking as long as she had plenty of time to prepare, but the holiday was cutting out part of her prep time, and she felt a little rushed. When Monica returned to tap impatiently at the door again, Andrea saved where she was at and shut down the computer. “Ok, ok, here we go.” She looked down at her night clothes and said, “Maybe I should put on something else.”
“You think?”
Andrea pushed Monica out of the way and ran to her bedroom closet for some shorts and a T-shirt. She threw them on quickly, then hopped into a pair of flip-flops and ran out to the garage, where Monica was already packing her pie carefully in the back seat. “Do you want to put a seat belt on it, too?” Monica stuck her tongue out at her mother and sat down in the front seat. Andrea got behind the wheel, they both fastened their seat belts, and then she opened the garage door. Sunlight streamed in, momentarily blinding them both. “Wow. At least there's no rain.” Andrea started the car up and pulled out onto the driveway.
The news van that had taken up residence across the street fired up its engine as soon as the driver saw them pull out of the garage and prepared to follow. “Look pretty for the paparazzi, mom,” Monica said, flashing a lovely smile at the van and waving.
“Why do I think this all so much more fun for you than it is for me?”
“Because it is.”

	In 1987, tension eased considerably between the troubled members of the Prog band Marillion at the Westside Studios in London. The recording of their fourth and best to date album Clutching at Straws had shed some of its predecessor's pop stylings.
Also it had retreated into a darker exploration of excess, alcoholism, and life in hotels, representing the strains of constant touring that threatened to result in the imminent departure of lead singer and lyricist Fish (real name Derek William Dick) to pursue a solo career. However self-exploration produced an unexpectedly carthatic effect upon Fish, enabling him to reconnect with Steve Rother, Pete Trewavas, Mark Kelly and Ian Mosley. Surely this was a great triumph for fans everyone including members of the Web.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1999, the networks ran instalment nine of TSEotTC. Shortly after appointment, Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten tells British Prime Minister the Raj is finished. Nonsense said Churchill, he had not become the King's First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire. The author Adrienne Gormley was also interviewed on the show, talking about her great work of journalism Children of Tears. She said that Mountbatten was mistaken, he should have known that Churchill meant it when he said he would not preside over the end of the British Empire.

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

In 1965, in Gold Star Studios, New York City the recording of River Deep - Mountain High was cancelled following an argument between Ike Turner and Phil Spector. Feeling threatended by his wife's success, Ike had made a number of unhelpful suggestions to Spector who had retorted "Oh, man, I came here from California to make hits." Ike did not need a translator to realise that he was being told to "Shut up and get out of my face."

~ entry from Steve Payne: the language of the quotation has been moderated.

In 2010, an earthquake struck Alaska and the US military observed the ground rumbling at HARC. Eyes turned to General Ben Crewe, and these were now of suspicion and blame rather than the congratulatory glances that followed the destruction of the small pox virus weapons launched by the rogue North Korean leadership. General Crewe glanced at his watch 22:20:03. A desert of blankness overtook him. His watch read 22:20:10. Three balls were spread out at his feet. He could not recall seeing who had dropped the balls or when they had rolled. Crewe realised he had just lost seven seconds during the the Aftershock.

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

In 1965, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill died in Spandau Prison, Germany. Word of his demise reached the Fuerher in Bechtesgarden that evening. Terminally ill himself, Hitler outlived Churchill by five weeks, describing him as a "remarkable adversary" and a "remarkable drain on the Reich Treasury" in reference to the extravagant quantities of alcohol and cigars consumed by the Old Lion in his Prison Cell.

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

In 1977, Sex Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren fired bassist Sid Vicious. Glen Matlock who had left in February was reinstated. Writing thirty years later Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day sympathised with McLaren's dilemma. "It wasn't necessarily a mistake to replace Glen Matlock with Sid Vicious. Matlock was cool, but Sid was everything that's cool about punk rock: a skinny rocker who had a ton of attitude, sort of an Elvis, James Dean kind of guy. That said, there's nothing romantic about being addicted to heroin. He was capable of playing his instrument, but he was too messed up to do it."

~ entry from Co-Historian Steve Payne: language of the original quotation has been moderated.

De Valera	In 1942, on the Irish Isles reports from subversive underground newspapers in Southern England fuel the Troubles with the Dublin Government. 32nd US President Winston Churchill was reported to mutter Something must be done . Taoiseach Éamon de Valera responded with absolute fury. Collecting himself nonetheless, De ..
.. Valera spoke truly when he said The English must now move forward from 1533 and stop arguing about the past. A truthful, but perhaps unhelpful reference to Henry VIII precipitous action to launch the Reformation, the event which triggered the collapse of English power.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1974, Richard Condon published Winter Kills, a counter-comedy exploring a fictional presidential assassination and the various conspiracy theories that surround the event. Before the plot begins, U.S. President John F. Kennedy is shot in Dealey Plaza, Dallas. The ensuing presidential commission condemns a lone gunman ..	Winter Kills
.. as the killer. The film starts years later, when Kennedy's brother, Teddy, witnesses the death-bed confession of a man claiming to have been part of the 'hit squad'. As the protagonist attempts to find the plotter(s), he encounters numerous groups and persons that could have led or been part of the conspiracy. One person is Judith Campbell Exner, mob a hostess, lobbyist and fixer. She recounts the story of President Kennedy asking her about appointing a member of organized crime to the Court of St. James. The character is Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby. Condon's book describes the numerous intertwined threads of the conspiracy, from the Mafia, Cuba, even possible domestic police connections. Only in the final act, in which Teddy meets with his vicious and perverse Joseph P. Kennedy 'father-figure', is the truth revealed with a twisted ending.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

The Man in the ..	In 1932, as the Financial Crises in America deepened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below its lowest level of the Great Depression, 41.22. Teetering on the verge of national bankruptcy, the United States was simply unable to finance effective defences for its overextended continental territories. Philip K Dick examined ..
.. the eventual defeat of the United States, and the partition of the continent by Germany and Japan in his counter-factual novel Man in the High Castle. The novel is set in the former United States, in 1962, fifteen years after the Axis Powers defeated the Allies in World War II and the U.S. surrendered to Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. Several characters in The Man in the High Castle read a popular novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a novel within a novel. The author, Hawthorne Abendsen, describes an alternate history in which the Axis Powers lost the war. The novel portrays a third scenario which is banned in areas under German occupation, but its publication is legal in the areas under Japanese occupation.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1975, as Arthur Ashe celebrated the achievement of becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title, a species threatening catastrophe unfolded in America. Twenty fifth century scientists were to discover that AIDS did not after all originate from a monkey bite in Africa. AIDS was manufactured by Japanese ..	Monkey Bite
.. General Otozoo Yamada's Bacteriological weapons research in Unit 731. Experimental substances were handed to General Douglas MacArthur in 1945 and used for military research, accidentally released in 1975 due to poor security at a US military base.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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A Review; Skylab's Fateful Reentry

July 11th, 2007

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The Announcement

Alternate Historian Recommendation: For a couple of weeks now, I've been listening to the audiobook for and reading the hardcover book World War Z by Max Brooks (Mel Brooks' son!) - soon to be a major motion picture at a theater near you. It is a near-future look at a world that has survived a zombie apocalypse, told through personal interviews with survivors, both the ordinary and the famous. I cannot recommend this highly enough – the audiobook, especially, which is a star-studded affair filled with such actors as Alan Alda, Carl & Rob Reiner, and my favorite, Mark Hamill as the soldier Todd Wainio. The world that Brooks has drawn is so fascinating that I want him to write a sequel just to let me know about how that world comes out – I want to see the new, leaner America, the suddenly super-charged Cuba, the horrors of the devastated lands of Asia, all in a new work. I was amazed at how well the younger Brooks writes, since this is most decidedly not comedy – I wouldn't have been surprised to find Mel Brooks' son writing good slapstick. But, World War Z is as much political thriller and alternate reality piece as it is a plain zombie story, and this is where Brooks really shines. The zombies, in fact, although never far from people's minds, are just kind of a background for what's really going on – intrigues, last-minute revenges in the face of utter annihilation, hope in the face of oblivion – for once, I have to say that this is a bestseller for the good, old-fashioned reason: it deserves it. Pick it up. If you can get the audiobook, it is wonderful. It's abridged, unfortunately, because it's been done as a full-cast theatrical piece rather than a straight reading, but it is still well worth listening to.
OK, now that I've gushed all over the page, on to Steve's stuff!

"We face a hostile ideology [communism] global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method ... [warning about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals] [that] we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by ...
Eisenhower	.. [Ike leans forward for emphasis] the congressional military industrial complex... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." ~ Final televised Address to the Nation from the Oval Office on January 17, 1961.
34th US President

The "iron triangle" refer to an institutionalised collusion among defense contractors (industry), The Pentagon (military), and the United States government (Congress, Executive branch), as a cartel that works against the public interest, and whose motivation is profiteering. Congressional leaders saw it, they requested that he remove the word 'Congressional' - Eisenhower refused as the point was central to the warning he was giving. A synopsis of Eisenhower's speech is described at Wikipedia.

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

In 2009, TV networks ran episode two of So What If?. The "terrorist" Nelson Mandela is sentenced to death at the Rivonia mistrial. Twenty-six years later, his compatriots are released from Robben Island. Alongside Desmond Tutu, Oliver Tambo raises a black power salute to the cameras in the glorious sunshine of Archona. Three years later, he is elected the first black President of the Rainbow Nation of the Drakia.

~ variant entry by Steve Payne: extensive use of content is made to celebrate the genius of S. M. Stirling's dystopian alternate history series.

In 2010, Physicist Mike Ryder returns to the HARC II to celebrate his diffusing of the catastrophe ahead of the 1:00am sunrise in Alaska. The added solar excitement would have catastrophically amplified the vibration, destroying civilization in North America. However Ryder had not succeeded in reactivating the HARC I site at Eureka, the Skip Zone must have been created by someone, or something else.

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

"Max" Aitken	In 1942, on the Irish Isles further reports from subversive underground newspapers in Southern England continue to fuel “the Troubles” with the Dublin Government. 32nd US President Winston Churchill was quoted as saying “If you're going through Hell, keep going” . This was considered out of context as a statement of encouragement to the protestant terrorists in Southern England.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1979, the returning space station Skylab broke up on entry into the atmosphere with debris scattered over an area covering portions of the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. Waiting dormant inside the aero shell was a devastating space plague bacillus. In a coincidence for the organisers, the annual Miss Universe pageant ..	Skylab
.. was scheduled to be held a few days later, on 20 July 1979 in nearby Perth, Western Australia. A large piece of Skylab debris was displayed on the stage.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

Salomon August ..	In 1897, Salomon August Andrée departed from Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, situated in the Arctic Ocean. Andrée reached the North pole by balloon where he was sucked into the powerful vortex. Multidimensional energies fold space and time, sending them to the court of that most shrewd of monarchs, ..
.. Gustavus Adolphus, the only Swedish king to be styled "the Great". Bohemian General Albrecht von Wallenstein was marching from the south, and Andrée knew he had but the briefest of moments to dissuade Gustavus Adolphus from entanglement in the disastrous thirty years war.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

In 1859, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . ” in the historical novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. Juxtaposed in the capitals of Richmond and Washington, Dickens described the brutal War of the States that broke out of over the explosive issue of First Nation genocide. The ..	Charles Dickins
.. book closes, as it opened, with the finest prose in the English Language, 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren declares “it is a far, far better thing that I do. . .” as he proclaimed a Cherokee sovereign state.
~ entry by Steve Payne from Counter History in Context - You're the Judge!

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