Assassination In Sarajevo

The state of TIAH

June 28th, 2006

in 1914, Serbian nationalist Nedjelko Cabrinovic blows up the Austrian nobleman Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, along with their driver. A dozen people on the Sarajevo street where the Archduke was driving were injured. The Serbian terrorist had tossed his bomb into the Austrian car, and Ferdinand almost tossed it back out, but it went off before the nobleman could save himself and his wife. The horror of the bomb scene, with the mutilated bodies of the Austrians and injured Sarajevans, enraged the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Emperor Franz Joseph wanted to move troops into Serbia immediately to hunt for the nationalists who killed his nephew. Russia was asked not to interfere, because they had a security pact with Serbia, and the Austrian negotiator took photographs of the Archduke's body to convince them. After seeing the consequences of this horrible attack, the Russians reluctantly worked with the Austrians to convince the Serbs to give up the nationalist elements in their society. The betrayed Serbians declared war on both Austria-Hungary and Russia, but the tiny nation was unable to keep these European giants from dispatching their own military in short order. Once Austria-Hungary had the nationalists who had assassinated the Archduke in custody, they withdrew from Serbia, but their attack proved more far-reaching; Serbians sympathetic to the nationalists began a campaign of terror attacks against Austro-Hungarian and Russian targets across Europe. Although Russia eventually toppled the Serbian government and replaced it with one more to their liking, the terror attacks continued until the Austro-Hungarians and Russians committed genocide against the Serbs in 1928, virtually annihilating the Serbian people. The two empires were condemned by the western democracies for this war crime, and lack of trade with civilized nations after this horrific transgression took them into a gradual decline; Russia's Tsar abdicated in 1934, and a parliamentary government headed by Alexander Kerensky took control and reestablished diplomatic and trade relations with the rest of the world. After Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary died in 1936, the empire split into 6 minor countries, each of which repudiated their imperial past and rejoined the international community. This blossoming of democracy in the 1930's even spread to the powers that hadn't been involved in the Serbian atrocity – Germany, Spain and Italy all liberalized their governments into parliamentary democracies. “The flower of freedom has bloomed from the grave of Serbia,” Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany said as he turned over most of his power to the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Ebert.

in 1969, what had been planned as a simple raid on a New York night-club that was violating its liquor license turned into a neighborhood-wide riot as police were attacked by locals angered at the treatment of the night-club's homosexual patrons. The raiding policemen were shut up in the Stonewall Inn by the riot, and they desperately radioed for assistance. When riot police arrived, a few hotheads in the crowd began setting fire to buildings, including the Stonewall Inn, itself. With fires raging all around them, the riot police were unable to contain the situation, and withdrew. Fire trucks were allowed in to put out the blazes, but police were repelled when they attempted to follow the fire fighters into the community to restore order. This chaos continued for almost three days while the nation watched, and homosexuals across America became galvanized into action. When the New York cops finally put the riot down, 43 people were dead, over 300 were injured, and the nation saw for the first time that “Gays,” as they now referred to themselves, would no longer take the abuse they had been dealt in the past. The Stonewall Organization, dedicated to civil rights for homosexuals, was founded on the ashes of the night-club, and won their first major victory that year, as New York City voted to recognize the civil rights of homosexuals and decriminalize homosexuality. A storm of outrage from conservatives and fundamentalist Christians across America greeted this progressive move, but the Stonewall Organization was just getting started. In spite of many cultural battles over the '70's and '80's, homosexual rights won acceptance from the mainstream culture, and the Stonewall Act of 1987, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, a one-time opponent, granted homosexuals full citizenship for the first time in American history.

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The Tour Eiffel; The Atlantis Project

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March 31st, 2006

in 1492, King Ferdinand issued a decree that all Jews in Spain should renounce their faith or be exiled. A small group of Jewish sailors and merchants approached the King with a daring plan; if they found a new route to India, one which didn't require the arduous sail around Africa, he would make Spain a welcome place for those of their faith. Ferdinand agreed, and the leaders financed the sail of 5 ships to the west, captained by an Italian navigator by the name of Cristobal Colon.

in 1596, Rene Descartes thought he was born, but was he, really?

in 1776, at the urging of his wife Abigail, John Adams encourages his fellow American rebels to entertain the idea of women having full rights of citizenship in their new country. With the promise of such freedom, women across the colonies give their full support to the United States that the rebels speak of, and the young nation becomes the first in the world to grant the fairer sex full participation in society.

in 1889, a handful of Parisians attended the dedication of the Tour Eiffel, the 1000-foot tall tower designed by Gustave Eiffel to honor France’s revolution of 1789. The wrought-iron eyesore has few visitors today, and sticks out like a sore thumb in the heart of Paris.

in 1948, 43rd U.S. President Al Gore, Jr. was born in Carthage, Tennessee. After the contentious 2000 elections put Gore into the White House with a popular vote victory but a contested electoral vote win, Republicans fought him tooth and nail until they lost control of the House in the 2002 elections, and then the Senate when Gore won reelection in 2004.

in 1952, Mikhail von Heflin and his lover Velma Porter sail the survivors of their ship to the Libyan coast, where they are forced to crashland. The Baron and Miss Porter leave them after firing off a few flares to alert anyone passing that they need assistance.

in 1959, Tensin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and leader of the Tibetan people, surrenders to Chinese authorities who have taken control of his small country. When he is executed as an enemy of the state, Tibetans begin a 7-year uprising against Chinese rule that eventually drives out the communist power, but leaves Tibet in ruins.

in 1990, President Ralph Shephard authorizes the Atlantis Project, a systematic program to sink enemy ships in the western hemisphere. Led by the nuclear carrier Atlantis, the project destroyed almost a hundred enemy vessels and killed thousands of sailors.

in 1991, the Honduran Pact, a military organization of the Central American nations that formed a buffer zone between capitalist Brazil and the communist Soviet States of America, formally dissolved its membership. With the wave of capitalistic experimentation going on in Latin America, most member states no longer saw a need to protect themselves from their new trading partner.

in 2004, with their exterior, super-cooled chamber filled with methane crabs and the parasitic Projection Virii, Jacob and Livinia Sheridan’s ship takes off from Titan and heads back to earth. They have some high hopes about genetically engineering the P.V. into a more useful citizen of the solar system.

in 2005, at a press conference he has hastily pulled together, U.S. Representative Carl Worthington announces that he is a member of the Save Earth movement, and that he has himself observed alien activity in the higher echelons of government. When their broadcast is jammed, some of the reporters surge forward and capture Worthington, while a few who have been convinced by Worthington help his assistant, Jeanne Lange, escape.

Timelines in today's post: von Heflin, The Sheridans, Communist America, The Claw and the Ralph Shephard timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect 1492 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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Ferdinand Of Castille Is Driven From Cordoba

June 29th, 2004:

in 614, Allah is merciful as Christian rebel Ferdinand of Castille is driven from Cordoba by the faithful Moors. The infidels are pushed north, where they last for another century before the faithful can destroy them.

in 1613, London’s Globe Theatre burns down. Suspicion immediately falls on William Shakespeare, who had been presenting himself as the author of several plays penned by Francis Bacon until Bacon revealed himself as the author. Shakespeare’s life had taken a sharp downturn since that time, and the entire theatrical community knew that he harbored a dep grudge against Bacon for stealing that prestige from him.

in 4561, casualties on either side of the siege of Hanoi stand at 200,000 fatalities as the final week of battle begins. The Chinese forces move slowly into the city, fighting every inch of the way against truly horrifying opposition from the citizens and military inside the city. In his memoirs of the Battle of Hanoi, Imperial General Zuo Zongtang said that he would prefer being dropped into the deepest of the hells to fighting the Viet again.

in 1941, Kwame Toure, future leader of the American underground organization, the Semitic-African Resistance, is born. One of the galvanizing moments of his life happens in his first few hours: the neo-Nazi supported German People’s Underground fires several nuclear missiles at Greater Zionist-controlled cities across Europe.

in 1956, blonde bombshell Norma Jeane Mortenson married famed humorist Arthur Miller. When asked why she had chosen a man who was not exactly known for his physique, Mrs. Miller answered, “He makes me laugh.” Indeed, the sex goddess seemed much happier after the marriage, and the two laughed away their years together until Mrs. Miller’s death in 2001.

in 1964, producer Bob Wesley’s show Star Trek airs its pilot, The Cage. Although the pilot is disappointing, the show’s concept excites the test audience, and Wesley reworks the cast and script. With a new cast starring Canadian William Shatner, the series was a phenomenal hit, running through 1973 and inspiring a wave of science fiction on television.

in 1970, NBC aired The Judy & Liza Show, which paired the mother-daughter team of Judy Garland and Liza Minelli. The emotional show, featuring music and skits between them, won several Emmys, including Ms. Garland’s first after 3 other nominations. Accepting the award, she thanked God, Reverend Martin King, and her daughter, “who’s been on this road with me for so long. I love you, honey.” It was all the more poignant because they had each been nominated in the same category, and rumor had it that Ms. Minelli wanted the award just as much for herself as for her mother. Still, when her mother won, they embraced and the two seemed to bear no ill will towards each other afterwards.

in 2003, the Australian military sent couriers to the US, Russian, British and Chinese militaries with samples of nanobots and the process for making more. Multiple couriers went to each target nation, in case of capture.

Archduke Ferdinand Escapes Assassination

June 28th, 2004

in 1491, future Pope Henry VIII of the Holy British Empire is born. Henry was the most tolerant Pope towards the Protestants in history; some wags even called him the “Protestant Pope”.

in 1862, in a serendipitous stroke of good luck, a police officer in the small town of Heathfield stopped to assist a young man whose vehicle had broken down. The young man looked familiar to the officer, Patrolman Danny Barnett, who scanned his image and checked with the main computers at Scotland Yard. When the man’s identity came back as Brent Carpenter, founder of the Human League, Patrolman Barnett immediately called for help and wrestled Carpenter to the ground. Once handcuffed to his own vehicle, Carpenter began freely confessing everything to Barnett, who let his handheld computer record all the horrific acts of violence against both human and Mlosh that the terrorist told him about.

in 4561, forces in Hanoi are facing starvation, along with the general populace. Chinese troops begin advancing into the outlying districts, and the Viet of the city are urged to fight with whatever weapons they have at hand. “Let us not face them as a goat waiting for slaughter,” Prince Nguyen Vo exhorted his citizens, “but as the tiger in the trap waiting for the man to come. Let us make the price of our lives so high that none will ever wish to fight the Viet again, for even victory is a defeat.”

in 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sofia narrowly escape the bullets of a Serbian madman, Gavrilo Princip. Princip had evidently thought that killing the royal couple would somehow free his native Serbia; in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, Serbian nationalism was brutally repressed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This came close to igniting a war among the European powers, but the Empire eased its tactics once international pressure was applied to them.

in 1926, Melvin Kaminsky is born in Brooklyn, New York. Getting his start in show business as a writer on Ike Sidney’s Your Show Of Shows, Kaminsky wrote and directed such comedy film classics as Flamin’ Cowboys and The Directors.

in 1928, Eugene Debs is nominated for a 3rd term as U.S. president at the Communist Party National Convention, but loses in the general election against Socialist candidate Clarence Darrow. Debs, ever the activist, moves to Russia and begins organizing labor there in unions, called soviets. The soviet is such a hit that many American unions and organizations begin using the name to describe themselves; indeed, even some states rename themselves soviets to show their solidarity with the working man. This move might never have happened if Debs had won the 1928 election.

in 1991, Paul McCartney, former bass player for superstar Pete Best, discovers his true calling; his classical oratorio, Liverpool Oratorio, debuts in London to huge critical acclaim, if somewhat spare box office at first. The profits increase when, 2 weeks into its run, Pete Best himself attends, and embraces McCartney on stage at the end of the show. It was the first time the two had spoken since 1962, and the last; Best died 3 years later without seeing McCartney again.

in 2003, Jacob Sheridan replicates and is able to control nanobots created using the techniques copied from the captured Martian vessel. The handful of nanobots he has made are able to generate more power than a rocket engine. Sheridan had been awake for over 48 hours, and was manic when he burst into office of General Bertram Hughes, declaring, “We’ve got the buggers, now!”

Seeds

In 2013, the City of Mississauga reported a dramatic fall in vehicular mansalughter. Put simply, drivers were notorious for ignoring white lights permitting pedestrians to cross. Corners were taken very quickly after light changes in order to beat oncoming traffic. Also by “beating the lights” drivers chose not to decelerate if they did not see pedestrians actually crossing, even if they were approaching the kerbside. Both of these scenarios had caused a large number of accidents for immigrants who thought that the white light might it was safe for pedestrians to cross. The rising population of immigrations caused the Department of Transport to take action, and they turned to telegram technology as a draconian measure. Images of children were picted just after light changes. This huge rise in virtual deaths led to widespread traffic calming. And not a few fender benders, which insurance companies recovered from increased premiums.

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In 1905, the Japanese attack on Port Arthur is frustrated by the arrival of Russian reinforcements. At one stage it looked as if the Tsar would be humiliated by defeat, but after Port Arthur, the Russo-Japanese war drifted into a stalemate.

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In 1979, punk rocker Sid Vicious goes on trial for the murder of his girlfriend/manager, Nancy Spungen. Vicious attempts suicide several times during the trial process, until he is finally placed into custody and put under a suicide watch. He is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He was paroled in 2002, a shell of his former self.

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In 1727, James Wolfe was born, a British general remembered mainly for his role in establishing British rule in Canada. By 1942, British rule only existed in Canada, with the British Government in Exile, headed by Lord Halifax unexpected guests of the Governor General at his residence in Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

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

She came out of the store just in time to see her young son playing on the sidewalk directly in the path of the gray, gaunt man who strode down the center of the walk like a mechanical derelict. For an instant, her heart quailed. Then she jumped forward, gripped her son by the arm, snatched him out of harm's way. The man went by without turning his head. As his back moved away from her, she hissed at it, "Go away! Get out of here! You ought to be ashamed!" Thomas Covenant's stride went on, as unfaltering as clockwork that had been wound to the hilt for just this purpose. But to himself he responded, Ashamed? Ashamed? His face contorted in a wild grimace. Beware! Outcase unclean! ~“Golden Boy”

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In 1727, James Wolfe was born on this day in Westerham, Kent, England, the eldest son of Colonel Edward Wolfe and the former Henrietta Thompson. Around 1738, the family moved to Greenwich, in London.

From his earliest years Wolfe was destined for a military career, entering his father's marine regiment at the age of 13. No other British Officer in North America was to achieve Wolfe's level of disreputation, following his decision on September 13th to destroy the city of Quebec after the winter threatened to overtake the besieging British red coats.

In Wolfe's own condemnatory words, he said “I propose to set the town on fire with shells, to destroy the harvest, houses and cattle, both above and below, to send off as many Canadians as possible to Europe and to leave famine and desolation behind me; but we must teach these scoundrels to make war in a more gentleman like manner."

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In 870, the infidel rulers Ferdinand and Isabella fall to the righteous forces of Caliph Boabdil. Allah saw fit to give the Moors control of Espagne, and from there, a foothold on the rest of Europe, so that His word might reach the poor northerners who had not heard Its beauty.

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In 1903, after appointing a black postmistress to the post office in Indianola, Mississippi, President Roosevelt sent reinforcements along with her to ensure that she would be able to do her job. Roosevelt’s commitment to the civil rights of the African-American population of America gave him a hitherto unmeasured degree of support in the south. His Civil Rights Act of 1904, ensuring the voting rights of blacks across America, is credited with landing him his unprecedented 3rd term of office in the election of 1908.

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In 1960, Senator Joe Kennedy, Jr. threw his hat in the ring for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Kennedy’s inspiring tale of recovery from injuries suffered in a horrific plane crash during World War II made him a natural choice, and he won the nomination handily. He had a little more difficulty defeating Vice President Nixon in the general election, but squeaked by with a margin of half a million votes.

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In 1920, Исаак Озимов was born on this day in Petrovichi, Russian SFSR. Isaac Asimov as he is more commonly known in the West is generally considered by many as the father of Psychohistory. During the 1940s, Asimov's research determined that the House of Romanov was in terminal decline. Without intervention, the Tsarist Empire would soon fall giving way to a barbaric interregnum of one hundred years before a Second Empire would arise. He concluded that it was too late to prevent the fall of the House of the Romanov. Secretly, Asimov put in place the Asimov Plan to reduce this interregnum to as little as a decade, by setting up Foundations within continental Russia.

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StrawBerry	In early 1999, Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) released the first StrawBerry, using the same hardware as the Inter@ctive pager 950, and running on the Mobitex network. Today the device supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services. RIM settled on the name "StrawBerry" only after weeks of work by Lexicon Branding Inc., the Sausalito, California-based firm that named Intel Corp.'s Pentium microprocessor and Apple's PowerBook. One of the naming experts at Lexicon thought the miniature buttons on RIM's product looked "like the tiny seeds in a strawberry," Lexicon founder David Placek says. "A linguist at the firm thought straw was too slow sounding. Someone else suggested blackberry. RIM went for strawberry."
Revolution

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In 1958, the following notice was published ~ with due respect to sworn testimony of God-fearing citizens, -
Mr Paul Adolph Volcker is found guilty as charged of usury,-
by magistrates of this good parish of Cape May, New Jersey, -
persuant to Holy Scripture, Mark 8:36 refers, -
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?,-
on this day of our Lord, 1958. Not the potter, but the potter's clay. Amen.

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